文摘
Background The present study was aimed to evaluate whether IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies levels detected against a novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis polyprotein 38?F-64?F (with 38?F being the abbreviation for 38kD-ESAT6-CFP10 and 64?F for Mtb8.4-MPT64-TB16.3-Mtb8) are suitable for diagnosing active tuberculosis, and for monitoring the efficacy of chemotherapy on TB patients. Methods In this study, a total of 371 active TB patients without treatment were selected and categorized into S+/C+?group (n--43), S-/C+?group (n--06) or S-/C- group (n--22). A series of serum samples were collected from 82 active TB patients who had undergone anti-TB chemotherapy for 0- months at one month interval. Humoral responses (IgG, IgM and IgA) were determined for the novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis polyprotein using indirect ELISA methods in all of serum samples. Results For S+/C+, S-/C+?and S-/C- active tuberculosis patients before anti-TB chemotherapy, the sensitivities of tests based on IgG were 65.7%, 46.2% and 52.5% respectively; the sensitivities based on IgM were 21.7%, 24.5% and 18.9%; and the sensitivities based on IgA were 25.2%, 17.9% and 23.8%. By combination of three isotypes, for all active tuberculosis patients, the test sensitivity increased to 70.4% with the specificity being 91.5%. After anti-TB chemotherapy, there were no significant differences between groups with different courses of anti-TB chemotherapy. Conclusions The novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis polyprotein 38?F-64?F represents potential antigen suitable for measuring IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies. However, the serodiagnostic test based on the 38?F-64?F polyprotein appears unsuitable for monitoring the efficacy of chemotherapy.