Use of the immunodominant 18-kiloDalton small heat shock protein as a serological marker for exposure to Mycobacterium ulcerans

Diaz, Diana; Döbeli, Heinz; Yeboah-Manu, Dorothy; Mensah-Quainoo, Ernestina; Friedlein, Arno; Soder, Nicole; Rondini, Simona; Bodmer, Thomas; Pluschke, Gerd (2006). Use of the immunodominant 18-kiloDalton small heat shock protein as a serological marker for exposure to Mycobacterium ulcerans. Clinical and vaccine immunology, 13(12), pp. 1314-21. Washington, D.C.: American Society for Microbiology 10.1128/CVI.00254-06

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While it is well established that proximity to wetlands is a risk factor for contracting Buruli ulcer, it is not clear what proportion of a population living in an area where the etiologic agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans, is endemic is actually exposed to this disease. Immunological cross-reactivity among mycobacterial species complicates the development of a specific serological test. Among immunodominant proteins recognized by a panel of anti-M. ulcerans monoclonal antibodies, the M. ulcerans homologue of the M. leprae 18-kDa small heat shock protein (shsp) was identified. Since this shsp has no homologues in M. bovis and M. tuberculosis, we evaluated its use as a target antigen for a serological test. Anti-18-kDa shsp antibodies were frequently found in the sera of Buruli ulcer patients and of healthy household contacts but rarely found in controls from regions where the infection is not endemic. The results indicate that only a small proportion of M. ulcerans-infected individuals contract the clinical disease.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute for Infectious Diseases

UniBE Contributor:

Bodmer, Thomas

ISSN:

1556-6811

ISBN:

17021247

Publisher:

American Society for Microbiology

Language:

English

Submitter:

Factscience Import

Date Deposited:

04 Oct 2013 14:56

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:17

Publisher DOI:

10.1128/CVI.00254-06

PubMed ID:

17021247

Web of Science ID:

000242982000003

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/23943 (FactScience: 45300)

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