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Semi-quantitative detection of Mycobacterium leprae antigens in skin scrapings: suitability as a laboratory aid for field diagnosis of leprosy
- Source :
- Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 101:699-706
- Publication Year :
- 2007
- Publisher :
- Oxford University Press (OUP), 2007.
-
Abstract
- We describe here a method, potentially suitable for field applications, for semi-quantitative detection of Mycobacterium leprae antigens in skin scrapings, which are taken normally for smear microscopy. Thirty acid-fast bacilli-negative paucibacillary (PB) leprosy patients comprised the main study group; eight acid-fast bacilli-positive multibacillary (MB) patients and five healthy laboratory workers served as controls. Samples in saline were spotted on nitrocellulose paper and probed with mycobacterium-specific polyclonal or M. leprae-specific mAbs against 12, 35 and 65kDa protein antigens, using a dot-ELISA format. Spot densities were read through a densitometer and also graded visually. The polyclonal antibody produced the best sensitivity, resulting in densitometric detection of mycobacterial antigen in 100% MB, 76% multiple-lesion PB and 62% single-lesion PB patients. None of the healthy volunteers showed antigen positivity. A correlation was noted between the densitometric and visual estimates of the antigen. Determination of antigen in the lesion and an apparently uninvolved area of skin in a subset of PB patients provided clues to the state of the underlying infection. Serological positivity of PB patients for M. leprae-specific antibodies against the 35kDa and phenolic glycolipid-I antigens was too low (20%) for any diagnostic significance.
- Subjects :
- Pathology
medicine.medical_specialty
Tuberculosis
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Sensitivity and Specificity
Serology
Lesion
Antigen
Leprosy
medicine
Humans
Mycobacterium leprae
Skin
Antigens, Bacterial
biology
business.industry
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Skin Diseases, Bacterial
General Medicine
biology.organism_classification
medicine.disease
Antibodies, Bacterial
Infectious Diseases
Polyclonal antibodies
Immunology
biology.protein
Parasitology
medicine.symptom
Antibody
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00359203
- Volume :
- 101
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....16853d97385524e61d571f87796999cf