Microbiology and immunology
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Microbiol. Immunol. · Dec 2015
The diagnostic potential of MPT63-derived HLA-A*0201-restricted CD8+ T-cell epitopes for active pulmonary tuberculosis.
MPT63 protein is found only in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, including M. tuberculosis and M. bovis. Detection of MPT63-specific IFN-γ-secreting T cells could be useful for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) diseases. In the present study, the HLA-A*0201 restriction of ten predicted MPT63-derived CD8(+) T-cell epitopes was assessed on the basis of T2 cell line and HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice. ⋯ It is noticeable that the diagnostic sensitivity of the combination of five immunogenic peptides and T-SPOT. TB assay reached 100%. These MPT63-derived HLA-A*0201-restricted CD8(+) T-cell epitopes would likely contribute to the immunological diagnosis of M. tuberculosis infection and may provide the components for designing an effective TB vaccine.