COMPARISON OF 2 2,3-DIACYL TREHALOSE ANTIGENS FROM MYCOBACTERIUM-TUBERCULOSIS AND MYCOBACTERIUM-FORTUITUM FOR SEROLOGY IN TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS

Immunoglobulin G antibodies against two 2,3-diacyl trehalose (DAT) ant igens from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (DAT(T)) and Mycobacterium fortu itum (DAT(F)) were studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of 356 serum samples. The sera were obtained from non-tuberculosis-infected individuals (282 serum samples) and tuberculosis patients (74 serum sa mples), Non-tuberculosis-infected individuals were healthy people (120 serum samples; positive purified-protein-derivative skin test, 60 pat ients; negative purified-protein-derivative skin test, 60 patients) pa tients with nontuberculosis lung disease (59 serum samples), contacts of sputum-smear-positive tuberculosis patients (57 serum samples), and human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with nontuberculosis l ung disease (46 serum samples), Of the 74 patients with tuberculosis, 14 were human immunodeficiency virus infected, The sensitivity of the method using DAT(T) was 44.5%, and that with DAT(F) was 48.6%, The spe cificities with both antigens were 99.1%. There were no significant di fferences between the mean values for both antigens (P = 0.2815), We t herefore concluded that both antigens were interchangeable. As M, fort uitum, a fast-growing mycobacterium, could be a good source of antigen DAT, these results deserve consideration in the serology of tuberculo sis.