%A Navalkar RG %A Deshpande RG %A Khan MB %A Savariar LS %A Navalkar SR %T Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay of a 12-kDa protein of Mycobacterium leprae with sera f rom leprosy patients %0 Journal Article %D 1992 %J International Journal of Leprosy and other Mycobacterial Diseases %P 0148-916X %V 60 %N 3 %X A low molecular weight protein was obtained f rom a sonicate of armadillo-derived Mycobacterium leprae cells and f rom a λgt11 phage lysate of Escherichia coli (specifying the M. leprae 12-kDa protein) by a single step of ultrafiltration. Both proteins had an approximate molecular weight of about 12,000 (by SDS-PAGE) and were recognized by the M. leprae 12-kDa-specific monoclonal antibody ML06 by immunoblotting. Sera f rom 79 leprosy patients across the clinical spectrum, 17 contacts, and 12 normal healthy individuals were screened in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the 12-kDa proteins as the antigens. Antibodies to the 12-kDa protein (f rom lysate as well as sonicate) were detected in patients' sera across the clinical spectrum (44%-100% positivity), while no detectable reactivity was observed with control or contact sera. Sera f rom patients who had undergone a year or more of chemotherapy exhibited no reactivity compared to those f rom patients with only 3-6 months of chemotherapy. The 12-kDa proteins were also recognized by rabbit hyperimmune M. leprae antiserum.