Evaluation of a synthetic peptide for the detection of anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis curli pili IgG antibodies in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Natasha Naidoo; Balakrishna Pillay; Martin Bubb; Alexander Pym; Thamsanqa Chiliza; Kogieleum Naidoo; Thumbi Ndung'u; Victoria O Kasprowicz; Manormoney Pillay

doi:10.1016/j.tube.2018.01.007

Evaluation of a synthetic peptide for the detection of anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis curli pili IgG antibodies in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2018 Mar:109:80-84. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2018.01.007. Epub 2018 Feb 3.

Authors

Natasha Naidoo¹, Balakrishna Pillay², Martin Bubb³, Alexander Pym⁴, Thamsanqa Chiliza², Kogieleum Naidoo⁵, Thumbi Ndung'u⁶, Victoria O Kasprowicz⁷, Manormoney Pillay⁸

Affiliations

¹ Medical Microbiology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
² Discipline of Microbiology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
³ National Bioproducts Institute, South Africa.
⁴ Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
⁵ South African Medical Research Council HIV-TB Pathogenesis and Treatment Research Unit, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
⁶ Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, USA; HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Germany.
⁷ Africa Health Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; HIV Pathogenesis Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
⁸ Medical Microbiology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Electronic address: pillayc@ukzn.ac.za.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a serious threat in underdeveloped areas. Mycobacterium tuberculosis curli pili (MTP), a virulence factor, is a potential biomarker for a reliable point of care (POC) test and was evaluated for its ability to react with Immunoglobulin G (IgG) in TB patients. An MTP synthetic peptide in a slot blot assay was used to screen serum/plasma samples (n = 65) in 3 separate cohorts, including 40 TB positive (16 HIV co-infected), 20 TB negative/HIV negative patients and 5 healthy volunteers. Forty samples were true positives (HIV positive, n = 16), 23 true negatives (HIV negative) and 2 false positives (HIV negative). The McNemar test demonstrated a 3.08% accuracy estimate (CI: -2.1% - 3.08%). This confirms that MTP is expressed during infection, including HIV-TB co-infection, is likely to be suitable for the design of a POC test and supports the validation of MTP for TB detection in larger patient populations.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Curli pili; M. tuberculosis; MTB; MTP; Tuberculosis.

Publication types

Evaluation Study
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
Antibodies, Bacterial / immunology*
Antigens, Bacterial / immunology*
Case-Control Studies
Fimbriae, Bacterial / immunology*
Humans
Immunoassay / methods*
Immunoglobulin G / blood
Immunoglobulin G / immunology*
Mycobacterium tuberculosis / immunology*
Peptide Fragments / chemical synthesis
Peptide Fragments / immunology*
Predictive Value of Tests
Reproducibility of Results
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / blood
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / diagnosis*
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / immunology
Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / microbiology

Substances

Antibodies, Bacterial
Antigens, Bacterial
Immunoglobulin G
Peptide Fragments

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding