Pollock J M, Andersen P
Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, Belfast, United Kingdom.
J Infect Dis. 1997 May;175(5):1251-4. doi: 10.1086/593686.
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health problem in humans and animals, and improved diagnostic methods are needed urgently. This study examined the potential of an interferon-gamma blood test based on a recently identified low-molecular-mass secreted protein antigen, ESAT-6, for early detection of bovine TB. It was found that field cases of bovine TB and experimentally infected cattle exhibited strong in vitro interferon-y responses directed toward this antigen. Of importance, ESAT-6 reactivity was found to discriminate between cattle infected with TB and cattle sensitized by environmental mycobacteria, and the gene encoding this molecule was demonstrated to be absent from >90% of the nontuberculous mycobacterial strains isolated from healthy sensitized cattle. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using single defined antigens for the highly specific diagnosis of TB.
结核病在人类和动物中仍然是一个全球性的健康问题，因此迫切需要改进诊断方法。本研究检测了一种基于最近发现的低分子量分泌蛋白抗原ESAT-6的γ干扰素血液检测方法用于早期检测牛结核病的潜力。研究发现，牛结核病的现场病例和实验感染的牛对该抗原表现出强烈的体外γ干扰素反应。重要的是，发现ESAT-6反应性可区分感染结核病的牛和被环境分枝杆菌致敏的牛，并且从健康致敏牛中分离出的非结核分枝杆菌菌株中>90%不存在编码该分子的基因。这些结果证明了使用单一特定抗原进行结核病高特异性诊断的可行性。
