Studies on the antigenic specificity of Mycobacterium leprae. III. Further studies on immunological characterization.

The ability of the various protein antigens of Mycobacterium leprae to induce as well as detect delayed type hypersensitivity has been confirmed by studies in mice. Additionally, one of the fractions obtained from untreated M. leprae has been shown to possess specificity to the organism through immuno-analysis, thus confirming previous observations on skin-reactivity in guinea pigs. SDS-PAG electrophoresis has shown that this fraction contains a single antigen. A suggestion has been made that this single protein could be a target antigen for early diagnosis of leprosy, specifically in contacts of leprosy patients. It could also assist in detecting a latent infection. Additional studies, using different parameters, should lead to further confirmation of its specificity. It has also been suggested that such M. leprae-specific protein antigens could play an important role in the immune response of leprosy patients. They could also have a significant impact as possible immuno-protective agents, either by themselves or in combination with other immuno-potentiating agents.