DEVELOPMENT OF A SOD ELISA TO DETERMINE THE IMMUNOLOGICAL RELATEDNESSAMONG MYCOBACTERIA

This study reports on the standardization of an enzyme-linked immunoso rbent assay (ELISA) system for the measurement of immunological distan ces (ImDs) of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) molecule among the cultiv able mycobacteria, namely, Mycobacterium vaccae, M. phlei, M. smegmati s, M. avium, M. scrofulaceum, M. tuberculosis H37Ra, M. tuberculosis H 37Rv, and M. bovis BCG, and M. leprae. SODs from cultivable mycobacter ia were purified, antibodies were raised against these molecules, and ImDs between these anti-SOD antibodies and antigen (SODs) were determi ned by an immunoprecipitation technique standardized earlier and by th e ELISA technique developed in this study. The ELISA system developed in this study showed higher sensitivity and consistent and reproducibl e ImDs among various mycobacteria, including pathogens such as M. tube rculosis, M. leprae and M. avium. These values were comparable with th e values derived by the immunoprecipitation technique. Our ELISA techn ique appears to be a sensitive and rapidly reproducible method with th e additional advantage of the stability of reagents, and holds promise in the taxonomy as well as in the development of diagnostics for lepr osy and other mycobacterial infections.