Research on the occurrence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in the circulating immune complexes, isolated from serum of patients with tuberculosis

Abstract

BackgroundTuberculosis is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases and has among the highest mortality rates of all infectious diseases. There are 9 million cases of active tuberculosis reported annually; however, an estimated one-third of the world’s population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and remains asymptomatic. Despite the great progress in its diagnosis and treatment, tuberculosis is still a serious health and social problem. The contact between the immune system and Mycobacterium tuberculosis initiates cell-specific (Th1) and humoral-specific (Th2) responses. Many studies about the presence of antituberculotic antibodies in the serum have produced inconsistent results because of a high proportion of false-positive or false-negative results. The purpose of this study was to confirm whether circulating immune complexes (CIC) isolated from the serum of patients with tuberculosis are accompanied by antigenic proteins typical of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Material/MethodsWe assayed serum samples from 42 patients with tuberculosis. The control group consisted of the sera samples taken from 45 healthy subjects. The immunochemical analysis of dissociated immune complexes using the dot blot method demonstrated positive reaction on the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens in all patients with tuberculosis.ResultsAll patients with tuberculosis demonstrated a high serum concentration of CIC protein. The mean serum concentration of CIC protein was significantly higher in patients than in controls: 0.081 g/l in the control group and 0.211 g/l in the tuberculosis patients.ConclusionsThe analysis of CIC suggests that it may be a helpful test for patients with tuberculosis because of its quickness, simplicity of the idea, and limited invasiveness.

Protective effect of antigen excess immune complex in guinea pigs infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

“…Serum was collected and stored at −80°C till further use. ICs were isolated using Przybylski and Gołda 10 method using 7 per cent polyethylene glycol. The absorbance was read at 280 nm and 260 nm using a spectrophotometer and total protein concentration was estimated using 280/260 nm ratio 9 .…”

A proteomics-based method for identifying antigens within immune complexes

“…Their importance is well established in renal diseases [6]; inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis [7] and systemic lupus erythematosus; infectious diseases such as dengue, sclerosing panencephalitis, hepatitis and malignancies [5,8]. Although many studies report identification of ICs during disease processes, only a few have reported identification of antigens within ICs [9][10][11][12].…”