All issues > Volume 35(8); 1992

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1992;35(8):1059-1065. Published online August 15, 1992.

Production, Characterization, and Clinical Application of Perchloric Acid Extract of M. bovis BCG (BCG I)

Kyung Hyo KH Kim¹, Dong Soo DS Kim²

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Ewha Woman`s University, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Tuberculosis has been an important world-wide infectious disease. The prevalence of radiologically active tuberculosis was 1.8% of population in Korea. Probably the most important aspect of the pathogenesis of tuberculosis is the nature and specificity of the response of the immune system to the antigens of tubercle bacilli. Preparation of purified antigens from Mycobacteria with specific antigenic deterninants would improve immunological testing for the diagosis of tuberculosis. The antigen was prepared by extraction of M. bovis BCG with perchloric acid. The antigen prepared by perchloric acid was found to be a major band of 65 kD by sodium dodecy1 sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Ten sera from patients with tuberculosis who showed positive reactions to PPD by ELISA, did not react with perchloric acid extract antigen. But, the antigen elicited a delayed cutaneous reaction in BCG vaccinated children. The results suggest that the perchloric acid extract antigen of M. bovis BCG might be related with cell-mediated immune reactions and will be used as a skin test agent for testing the efficacy of BCG vaccination.

Keywords :M. bovis BCG, Perchloric acid soluble antigen