RESUMO
IgG antibodies against antigens 85A and 85B from Mycobacterium bovis BCG, IgM antibodies against phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) and circulating PGL-I antigen were measured in the serum of 11 patients with lepromatous leprosy receiving multidrug therapy (MDT). Before treatment, 6 patients were reactive to antigen 85A, 10 patients to antigen 85B, and 11 patients to PGL-I; circulating PGL-I was detected in the sera of all of them. After 2 years of MDT PGL-I antigen could no longer be detected in all of the patients, except for two who were not compliant with treatment. IgG antibodies directed against the 85A and 85B antigens and IgM antibodies against the PGL-I antigen also decreased significantly during treatment but more slowly. The determination of circulating PGL-I antigen remains the most appropriate tool for monitoring lepromatous leprosy under MDT.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antibacterianos/sangue , Antígenos de Bactérias/imunologia , Glicolipídeos/imunologia , Hansenostáticos/uso terapêutico , Hanseníase Virchowiana/tratamento farmacológico , Clofazimina/uso terapêutico , Dapsona/uso terapêutico , Quimioterapia Combinada , Glicolipídeos/sangue , Humanos , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Imunoglobulina M/sangue , Focalização Isoelétrica , Hanseníase Virchowiana/imunologia , Mycobacterium bovis/imunologia , Mycobacterium leprae/imunologia , Cooperação do Paciente , Protionamida/uso terapêutico , Rifampina/uso terapêuticoRESUMO
Immunoglobulin G antibodies against the 85A and 85B components of the Mycobacterium bovis BCG antigen 85 complex separated by isoelectric focusing were investigated in serum samples from 129 patients representing the major forms of leprosy, 111 tuberculous patients, and 153 healthy subjects. For both of the antigens, a higher degree of staining was observed for lepromatous leprosy patients and patients with active tuberculosis than for the other groups. Because sera from some healthy subjects recognized the 85A antigen, we suggest that antigen 85B is the most useful component of the antigen 85 complex for the serodiagnosis of the multibacillary forms of leprosy or of the active forms of tuberculosis.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Antibacterianos/biossíntese , Antígenos de Bactérias/imunologia , Imunoglobulina G/biossíntese , Hanseníase/imunologia , Mycobacterium bovis/imunologia , Tuberculose/imunologia , HumanosRESUMO
Isoelectric focusing was used to separate the three components of the antigen 85 complex of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Antibody responses of leprosy patients against each Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Antibody responses of leprosy patients against each component were quantitated by densitometric analysis of immunoblot assays. The 85A component was recognized by 40% (8/20) of the lepromin positive and negative healthy subjects, by 76% (19/25) of the tuberculoid and by 96% (24/25) of the lepromatous leprosy sera. In contrast, the 85B component was not stained by the control sera, nor by the tuberculoid leprosy sera but by 64% (16/25) of the lepromatous leprosy sera. The results suggest that antigen 85B contains one or several epitopes that are specifically recognized by sera of lepromatous leprosy patients only.