Specificity of a Mycobacterium kansasii phenolic glycolipid (mycoside A) immunoserum.

The specificity of Mycobacterium kansasii anti-mycoside A antiserum prepared in rabbits injected with purified samples of the phenolic glycolipid was evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Chloroform-methanol extracts from representative strains of 23 mycobacterial species and 50 strains of M. kansasii showed that all strains of M. kansasii and the representative strain of M. gastri formed the antigen, whereas none of the remaining species (including M. leprae) formed it. Consequently, it was found that the antiserum was highly specific and useful for diagnostic purposes.