Sero-immunoreactivity of cloned protein antigens of Mycobacterium leprae

Sera from 173 leprosy patients with various types of disease (tuberculoid = TT, borderline tuberculoid = BT, borderline lepromatous = BL, and lepromatous = LL), 12 intrafamilial contacts, and 40 normal healthy individuals were assayed in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using Mycobacterium leprae antigens. Recombinant clones carrying M. leprae antigens, namely, Y3184 (12 kDa), Y3179 (18 kDa), Y3164 (28 kDa), Y3180 (36 kDa), and Y3178 (65 kDa) and a cell sonicate from armadillo-derived M. leprae were used for the study. A high degree of reactivity with the 65-kDa, 36-kDa, and 28-kDa protein lysates was observed in most of the sera from multibacillary patients, with a low degree of positivity with 18 kDa and 12 kDa. Only a few sera from paucibacillary patients showed positive reactions. The majority of the contacts' sera tested showed no reactivity with these antigens.