Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1999 Jul;6(4):606-9.
doi: 10.1128/CDLI.6.4.606-609.1999.

Cellular immune responses to ESAT-6 discriminate between patients with pulmonary disease due to Mycobacterium avium complex and those with pulmonary disease due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A D Lein  1 , C F von Reyn, P Ravn, C R Horsburgh Jr, L N Alexander, P Andersen
Affiliations

Cellular immune responses to ESAT-6 discriminate between patients with pulmonary disease due to Mycobacterium avium complex and those with pulmonary disease due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A D Lein et al. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 1999 Jul.

Abstract

ESAT-6 (for 6-kDa early secreted antigenic target) is a secreted antigen found almost exclusively in organisms of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. We compared in vitro gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) responses by peripheral blood mononuclear cells to this antigen in patients with pulmonary disease due to either Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) or Mycobacterium tuberculosis with those in healthy, skin test-negative, control subjects. Significant IFN-gamma responses to ESAT-6 were detected in 16 (59%) of 27 M. tuberculosis pulmonary disease patients, 0 (0%) of 8 MAC disease patients, and 0 (0%) of 8 controls. Significant IFN-gamma responses to M. tuberculosis purified protein derivative were detected in 23 (85%) of 27 M. tuberculosis disease patients, 2 (25%) of 8 MAC disease patients, and 5 (63%) of 8 healthy controls. M. avium sensitin was recognized in 24 (89%) of 27 M. tuberculosis disease patients, 4 (50%) of 8 MAC disease patients, and 1 (13%) of 8 controls. IFN-gamma responses to ESAT-6 are specific for disease due to M. tuberculosis and are not observed in patients with MAC disease or in healthy controls.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Andersen P, Andersen A B, Sørensen A L, Nagai S. Recall of long-lived immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in mice. J Immunol. 1995;154:3359. - PubMed
    1. Boesen H, Jensen B N, Wilcke T, Andersen P. Human T-cell responses to secreted antigen fractions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Infect Immun. 1995;63:1491–1497. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brandt L, Oettinger T, Holm A, Andersen A B, Andersen P. Key epitopes on the ESAT-6 antigen recognized in mice during the recall of protective immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J Immunol. 1996;157:3527–3533. - PubMed
    1. Converse P J, Jones L J, Astemborski J, Vlahov D, Graham N M H. Comparison of a tuberculin interferon-γ assay with the tuberculin skin test in high-risk adults: effect of human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Infect Dis. 1997;176:144–150. - PubMed
    1. Edwards L, Acquaviva F, Livesay V. Identification of tuberculous infected: dual tests and density of reaction. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1973;108:1334–1339. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources