The 36,000-molecular-weight antigen (36K antigen) of Mycobacterium leprae is a major immunogenic protein carrying common and specific antigenic determinants recognized by antibodies and T cells in leprosy patients. Recombinant DNA clones containing the complete gene coding for the 36 K antigen, designated in this paper as PRA, were isolated from both lambda gt11 and cosmid libraries of the M. leprae genome. The DNA sequence of the pra gene coded for a polypeptide of 249 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 26,299 daltons. The deduced amino acid sequence revealed a proline-rich (42%) amino-terminal region containing a number of repeated sequences similar or identical to the sequence PGGSYPPPPP. The reactivity of four monoclonal antibodies (F47-9, F67-1, F67-5, and F126-5) was directed to this proline-rich region of the PRA protein. DNA sequence and immunological data indicated that the lambda gt11 recombinant Y3180, which was previously isolated by using antibody F47-9 (R.A. Young, V. Mehra, D. Sweetser, T. Buchanan, J. Clark-Curtiss, R.W. Davis, and B.R. Bloom, Nature (London) 316:450-452, 1985), specifies a fusion protein unrelated to PRA but containing a similar epitope recognized by F47-9.
CITATION STYLE
Thole, J. E. R., Stabel, L. F. E. M., Suykerbuyk, M. E. G., De Wit, M. Y. L., Klatser, P. R., Kolk, A. H. J., & Hartskeerl, R. A. (1990). A major immunogenic 36,000-molecular-weight antigen from Mycobacterium leprae contains an immunoreactive region of proline-rich repeats. Infection and Immunity, 58(1), 80–87. https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.58.1.80-87.1990
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