Novel antigens for detection of cell mediated immune responses to Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis infection in cattle: [plus] Addendum (2012)

Heidi Mikkelsen, Claus Aagaard, Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Gregers Jungersen

    22 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Paratuberculosis is a chronic infection of the intestine of ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Early stage MAP infection can be detected by measuring specific cell mediated immune responses, using the whole blood interferon-γ (IFN-γ) assay. Available IFN-γ assays use purified protein derivative of MAP (PPDj) which are complex antigen mixtures with low specificity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate immunogenicity and specificity of 14 novel recombinant antigens for use in the IFN-γ assay and to assess the consistency of IFN-γ responses. The study included blood samples from 26 heifers from a MAP infected herd, collected three times with four to five-week intervals, and blood samples from 60 heifers of a non-infected herd collected once. Heifers of the non-infected herd were used to establish cut-off values for each antigen. The case definition was an animal with ≥2 positive tests for ≥4 antigens, resulting in 13 cases and 13 non-cases. IFN-γ levels of cases were higher compared to IFN-γ levels of non-cases (P<0.05). The results of the IFN-γ assay using PPDj did not correlate well with the results using the novel antigens. PPDj produced elevated IFN-γ responses of samples from both the non-infected and the MAP infected herd, indicating unspecific IFN-γ responses and showed low consistency. Three latency proteins, LATP-1, LATP-2 and LATP-3 gave positive IFN-γ tests that correlated very well with the case definition suggesting high immunogenicity. Three tested antigens, LATP-2, MAP-1 and MAP-2 have no homologue in the M. avium subsp. avium or M. bovis genome and could be promising diagnostic antigens, especially LATP-2 correlated highly with the case definition.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalVeterinary Immunology and Immunopathology
    Volume143
    Issue number1-2
    Pages (from-to)46-54
    Number of pages9
    ISSN0165-2427
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 15 Sept 2011

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Novel antigens for detection of cell mediated immune responses to Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis infection in cattle: [plus] Addendum (2012)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this