01977nas a2200445   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002400055653002400079653001600103653001800119653001400137653002000151653001100171653001100182653001200193653000900205653002800214653002100242653002500263653002800288653003200316653001500348653001800363100001700381700001500398700001200413700001400425700001400439700001300453700001400466700001200480700001400492700001500506245007700521300001200598490000700610520090000617022001401517       1989                            d  c1989 Jul10aAmino Acid Sequence10aAntigens, Bacterial10aBCG Vaccine10aCarrier State10aCell Line10aCell Separation10aFemale10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMolecular Sequence Data10aMolecular Weight10aMycobacterium leprae10aProtein Sorting Signals10aRecombinant Fusion Proteins10aSonication10aT-Lymphocytes1 aDockrell H M1 aStoker N G1 aLee S P1 aJackson M1 aGrant K A1 aJouy N F1 aLucas S B1 aHasan R1 aHussain R1 aMcAdam K P00aT-cell recognition of the 18-kilodalton antigen of Mycobacterium leprae.  a1979-830 v573 a<p>The 18-kilodalton (kDa) antigen of Mycobacterium leprae was expressed as a fusion protein with a 2-kDa leader peptide and used in proliferation assays with peripheral blood cells. Fifty percent of untreated tuberculoid leprosy patients and 93% of long-term leprosy contacts responded to the recombinant protein in lymphocyte transformation tests. Comparison of the stimulation indices in the two groups showed that the contacts responded more strongly than the tuberculoid leprosy patients. Seventy percent of Mycobacterium bovis BCG-vaccinated European donors responded, although with low stimulation indices. The isolation of 18-kDa antigen-responsive T-cell lines from a BCG-vaccinated British donor confirmed that the 18-kDa antigen contains at least one cross-reactive epitope. These results indicate that the 18-kDa protein is an important antigen in the immune response to leprosy.</p>  a0019-9567