CVI
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cho, S.-N.
Right arrow Articles by Brennan, P. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cho, S.-N.
Right arrow Articles by Brennan, P. J.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, January 2001, p. 138-142, Vol. 8, No. 1
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.1.138-142.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Detection of Phenolic Glycolipid I of Mycobacterium leprae in Sera from Leprosy Patients before and after Start of Multidrug Therapy

Sang-Nae Cho,1,2,* Roland V. Cellona,3 Laarni G. Villahermosa,3 Tranquilino T. Fajardo Jr.,3 M. Victoria F. Balagon,3 Rodolfo M. Abalos,3 Esterlina V. Tan,3 Gerald P. Walsh,3 Joo-Deuk Kim,1,2 and Patrick J. Brennan4

Department of Microbiology1 and Institute for Immunology and Immunological Diseases,2 Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120-752, The Republic of Korea; Leonard Wood Memorial Center, Cebu 6000, The Philippines3; and Department of Microbiology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 805234

Received 8 June 2000/Returned for modification 25 July 2000/Accepted 23 October 2000

A total of 100 untreated new leprosy patients were recruited prospectively and examined for the presence of phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I) antigen in their serum specimens by dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using rabbit anti-PGL-I antiserum. The presence of circulating PGL-I antigen was closely related to the bacterial indices (BI) of the patients. The PGL-I antigen was detectable in 27 (93.1%) of 29 patients with a BI of 4.0 or above and in 15 (68.2%) of 22 patients with a BI of 3.0 to 3.9. However, none of the 37 patients with a BI of less than 1.9 had detectable PGL-I antigen by the methods used in this study. The level of PGL-I in serum declined rapidly by about 90% 1 month after the start of multidrug therapy. This study showed clearly that anti-PGL-I IgM antibodies and circulating PGL-I antigen levels reflect the bacterial loads in untreated leprosy patients. The serological parameters based on the PGL-I antigen may therefore be useful in the assessment of leprosy patients at the time of diagnosis and possibly in monitoring patients following chemotherapy.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 134 Shinchon-dong, Seoul 120-752, Republic of Korea. Phone: 822-361-5282. Fax: 82-2-313-9028. E-mail: raycho{at}yumc.yonsei.ac.kr.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, January 2001, p. 138-142, Vol. 8, No. 1
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.1.138-142.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. Infect. Immun.
J. Clin. Microbiol. J. Virol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.