Characterization of Human Cellular Immune Responses to NovelMycobacterium tuberculosisAntigens Encoded by Genomic Regions Absent inMycobacterium bovisBCG

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Abstract
Comparative genomics has identified several regions of differences (RDs) between the infectiousMycobacterium tuberculosisand the vaccine strains ofMycobacterium bovisBCG. We aimed to evaluate the cellular immune responses induced by antigens encoded by genes predicted in 11 RDs. Synthetic peptides covering the sequences of RD1, RD4 to RD7, RD9 to RD13, and RD15 were tested for antigen-induced proliferation and secretion of Th1 cytokine, gamma interferon (IFN-γ), by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from culture-proven pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients andM. bovisBCG-vaccinated healthy subjects. Among the peptide pools, RD1 induced the best responses in both donor groups and in both assays. In addition, testing of TB patients' PBMC for secretion of proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], interleukin 6 [IL-6], IL-8, and IL-1β), Th1 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-β), and Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10) showed differential effects of RD peptides in the secretion of IFN-γ and IL-10, with high IFN-γ/IL-10 ratios (32 to 5.0) in response to RD1, RD5, RD7, RD9, and RD10 and low IFN-γ/IL-10 ratios (M. tuberculosisRDs can be divided into two major groups—one group that activates PBMC to preferentially secrete IFN-γ and another group that activates preferential secretion of IL-10—and that these two groups of RDs may have roles in protection against and pathogenesis of TB, respectively.

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