Antibodies against Immunodominant Antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Subjects with Suspected Tuberculosis in the United States Compared by HIV Status

JM Achkar, E Jenny-Avital, X Yu, S Burger… - Clinical and Vaccine …, 2010 - Am Soc Microbiol
JM Achkar, E Jenny-Avital, X Yu, S Burger, E Leibert, PW Bilder, SC Almo, A Casadevall
Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, 2010Am Soc Microbiol
The immunodominance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins malate synthase (MS) and
MPT51 has been demonstrated in case-control studies with patients from countries in which
tuberculosis (TB) is endemic. The value of these antigens for the serodiagnosis of TB now is
evaluated in a cross-sectional study of pulmonary TB suspects in the United States
diagnosed to have TB, HIV-associated TB, or other respiratory diseases (ORD). Serum
antibody reactivity to recombinant purified MS and MPT51 was determined by enzyme …
Abstract
The immunodominance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins malate synthase (MS) and MPT51 has been demonstrated in case-control studies with patients from countries in which tuberculosis (TB) is endemic. The value of these antigens for the serodiagnosis of TB now is evaluated in a cross-sectional study of pulmonary TB suspects in the United States diagnosed to have TB, HIV-associated TB, or other respiratory diseases (ORD). Serum antibody reactivity to recombinant purified MS and MPT51 was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) of samples from TB suspects and well-characterized control groups. TB suspects were diagnosed with TB (n = 87; 49% sputum microscopy negative, 20% HIV+) or ORD (n = 63; 58% HIV+). Antibody reactivity to MS and MPT51 was significantly higher in U.S. HIV+/TB samples than in HIV/TB samples (P < 0.001), and it was significantly higher in both TB groups than in control groups with latent TB infection (P < 0.001). Antibody reactivity to both antigens was higher in U.S. HIV+/TB samples than in HIV+/ORD samples (P = 0.052 for MS, P = 0.001 for MPT51) but not significantly different between HIV/TB and HIV/ORD. Among U.S. HIV+ TB suspects, a positive anti-MPT51 antibody response was strongly and significantly associated with TB (odds ratio, 11.0; 95% confidence interval, 2.3 to 51.2; P = 0.002). These findings have implications for the adjunctive use of TB serodiagnosis with these antigens in HIV+ subjects.
American Society for Microbiology