Antigenic differences between extracts of actively replicating and synchronized resting cells of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract

Protein extracts were prepared from aerobically replicating cells of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and from synchronized non-replicating cells derived from the sediments of non-agitated cultures. Although both preparations share a number of antigens, the extracts of the non-replicating cells also contain antigenic components that are not shared by the replicating cells, and which can be isolated and visualized by immunoaffinity chromatography and immunoelectrophoretic techniques.