Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, September 1999, p. 675-682, Vol. 6, No. 5
1071-412X/99/$04.00+0
TB Research Group,1
and TB Diagnostic Unit,2 Bacteriology
Department, Veterinary Laboratories Agency
Weybridge, New Haw,
Addlestone, KT15 3NB, United Kingdom, and Department of Small
Ruminants Health, Animal Health Service, Boxtel, The
Netherlands3
Received 13 January 1999/Accepted 20 May 1999
In Great Britain a recent independent scientific review for the government has concluded that the development of a cattle vaccine against Mycobacterium bovis holds the best long-term prospect for tuberculosis control in British herds. A sine qua non for vaccination is the development of a complementary diagnostic test to differentiate between vaccinated animals and those infected with M. bovis so that test-and-slaughter-based control strategies can continue alongside vaccination. In order to assess the feasibility of developing a differential diagnostic test for a live vaccine, we chose M. bovis BCG Pasteur as a model system. Recombinant forms of antigens which are expressed in M. bovis but not, or only at low levels, in BCG Pasteur (ESAT-6, MPB64, MPB70, and MPB83) were produced. These reagents were tested either alone or in combination by using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from M. bovis-infected, BCG-vaccinated, and Mycobacterium avium-sensitized calves. All four antigens induced in vitro proliferation and gamma interferon responses only in M. bovis-infected animals. A cocktail composed of ESAT-6, MPB64, and MPB83 identified infected animals but not those vaccinated with BCG. In addition, promiscuous T-cell epitopes of ESAT-6, MPB64, and MPB83 were formulated into a peptide cocktail. In T-cell assays with this peptide cocktail, infected animals were identified with frequencies similar to those obtained in assays with the protein cocktail, while BCG-vaccinated or M. avium-sensitized animals did not respond. In summary, our results suggest that peptide and protein cocktails can be designed to discriminate between M. bovis infection and BCG vaccination.
Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, KT15 3NB, United Kingdom.
Phone: 44 1932 357 884. Fax: 44 1932 357 684. E-mail:
mvordermeier.vla{at}gtnet.gov.uk.
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