Serum immunoglobulin a antibodies to glycopeptidolipid core antigen for complex lung disease.

BACKGROUND

Mycobacteroides abscessus complex (MABC) exhibits smooth morphotypes, expressing glycopeptidolipid (GPL), and rough morphotypes, expressing diminished GPL, on the MABC cell wall. Few reports have focused on the relationship between anti-GPL-core immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody and colony morphology in MABC lung disease.

METHODS

This study aimed to test GPL core antigen in patients with MABC lung disease to investigate the relationship between coinfection/contamination in other nontuberculous mycobacteria species and colony morphology variant in MABC isolates. Patients with MABC lung disease and contamination diagnosed between 2012 and 2017 at our hospital were enrolled retrospectively.

RESULTS

Of the assessed patients, 43 patients with MABC lung disease and 13 with MABC contamination were included. There was a significant difference in anti-GPL-core IgA antibody levels between them (P = 0.02). Forty-three patients with MABC lung disease were divided into two groups as positive and negative antibodies groups. A significant increase in the positive anti-GPL-core IgA antibody was observed in coexistence with both Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) (P = 0.02) and the isolate of the smooth variant (P = 0.03) in MABC.

CONCLUSIONS

Anti-GPL-core IgA antibodies in patients with MABC are greatly influenced by MAC coexistence, and colony morphology variant of the MABC isolate.