Ravn P, Demissie A, Eguale T, Wondwosson H, Lein D, Amoudy H A, Mustafa A S, Jensen A K, Holm A, Rosenkrands I, Oftung F, Olobo J, von Reyn F, Andersen P
Department of Tuberculosis Immunology, Statens Serum Institut, 2300 Copenhagen 5, Denmark.
J Infect Dis. 1999 Mar;179(3):637-45. doi: 10.1086/314640.
Human T cell responses to ESAT-6 and eight synthetic overlapping peptides were investigated in tuberculosis (TB) patients and control subjects from regions of high and low endemicity for TB. ESAT-6 was recognized by 65% of all tuberculin purified protein derivative-responsive TB patients, whereas only 2 of 29 bacille Calmette-Guérin-vaccinated Danish healthy donors recognized this molecule. In Ethiopia, a high frequency (58%) of healthy contacts of TB patients recognized ESAT-6. All of the peptides were recognized by some donors, indicating that the molecule holds multiple epitopes. Danish and Ethiopian patients differed in the fine specificity of their peptide responses. Recognition of the C-terminal region (aa 72-95) was predominant in Danish patients, whereas recognition of aa 42-75 was predominant in Ethiopia. The relationship of these differences to the distribution of HLA types in the two populations is discussed. This study demonstrates that ESAT-6 is frequently recognized during early infection and holds potential as a component of a future TB-specific diagnostic reagent.
在结核病（TB）高流行区和低流行区的结核病患者及对照受试者中，研究了人类T细胞对ESAT-6和8种合成重叠肽的反应。65%的所有结核菌素纯蛋白衍生物反应性结核病患者可识别ESAT-6，而29名接种卡介苗的丹麦健康供体中只有2人能识别该分子。在埃塞俄比亚，结核病患者的健康接触者中有很高比例（58%）能识别ESAT-6。所有肽段都被一些供体识别，表明该分子含有多个表位。丹麦和埃塞俄比亚患者在肽段反应的精细特异性方面存在差异。丹麦患者主要识别C端区域（氨基酸72 - 95），而埃塞俄比亚患者主要识别氨基酸42 - 75。讨论了这些差异与两个群体中HLA类型分布的关系。本研究表明，ESAT-6在早期感染期间经常被识别，并且有潜力作为未来结核病特异性诊断试剂的一个组成部分。
