ANALYSIS OF NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC ANTIGENS AND EPITOPES OF MYCOBACTERIA

为了确定免疫显性表位并开发单特异性 皮肤试验抗原，来自同源19 kDa蛋白的T细胞表位 胞内分枝杆菌和M.结核病的定义是 重叠合成肽。这两种抗原，表现出78% 序列同源性，为定义 物种特异性表位。这些分枝杆菌的T细胞活性 首先通过攻击抗M在体外测试肽。肺结核， 抗M. avium和抗M.堪萨斯T细胞系和T细胞的测定 增殖19kDa的M.结核 抗原刺激的T细胞。这些肽中有两种是特异性的 仅对M有效。结核病T细胞系四肽 从M.胞内19kDa抗原诱导的T细胞 增殖，并且这些肽中的两种具有特异性反应性。的 还测定了肽诱导延迟型 过敏性（DTH）反应。所有六个 在皮肤试验测定中有活性的结核肽 非特异性反应。9个活跃的M。胞内 肽确实引起单特异性DTH应答。这些实验 建议可以从合成的合成物中开发出特定的皮肤测试试剂， 缩氨酸

In an effort to define immunodominant epitopes and to develop monospecific skin test antigens, T cell epitopes from the homologous 19 kDa proteins from Mycobacterium intracellulare and M. tuberculosis were defined with overlapping synthetic peptides. These two antigens, exhibiting 78% sequence homology, present an excellent opportunity for defining species-specific epitopes. The T cell activity of these mycobacterial peptides were first tested in vitro by challenging anti-M. tuberculosis, anti-M. avium, and anti-M. kansasii T cell lines and assaying for T cell proliferation. Six peptides derived from the 19 kDa M. tuberculosis antigen stimulated T cells. Two of these peptides were specifically active against only the M. tuberculosis T cell line. Four the peptides derived from the M. intracellulare 19 kDa antigen induced T cell proliferation, and two of these peptides had specific reactivity. The peptides were also assayed for their capacity to elicit delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions in guinea pigs. All six of the tuberculosis peptides that were active in skin test assays elicited non-specific responses. However, one of nine active M. intracellulare peptides did elicit a monospecific DTH response. These experiments suggest that specific skin test reagents may be developed from synthetic peptides.