AN ISOELECTRIC-FOCUSING METHOD FOR THE STUDY OF THE HUMORAL RESPONSE AGAINST THE ANTIGEN-85 COMPLEX OF MYCOBACTERIUM-BOVIS BCG IN THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF LEPROSY

Isoelectric focusing was used to separate the three components of the antigen 85 complex of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Antibody responses of leprosy patients against each component were quantitated by densitometric analysis of immunoblot assays. The 85A component was recognized by 40% (8/20) of the lepromin positive and negative healthy subjects, by 76% (19/25) of the tuberculoid and by 96% (24/25) of the lepromatous leprosy sera. In contrast, the 85B component was not stained by the control sera, nor by the tuberculoid leprosy sera but by 64% (16/25) of the lepromatous leprosy sera. The results suggest that antigen 85B contains one or several epitopes that are specifically recognized by sera of lepromatous leprosy patients only.