Detection and identification of antigens from Mycobacterium bovis culture filtrate with immune sera from Mycobacterium bovis sensitized or infected cattle

Abstract

Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, infects approximately 50 million cattle worldwide and is diagnosed by the tuberculin skin test (TST). The purpose of this thesis was to characterise the culture filtrate proteins (CFP) of M. bovis PPD tuberculin and to compare the antibody response of M. bovis infected versus M. bovis sensitized cattle. Sterile filtered PPD tuberculin (SF-PPD) resolved into approximately 200 discrete spots using two-dimensional PAGE. While 2D Western blot analysis of both M. bovis sensitized and M. bovis infected cattle sera demonstrated an antibody boost following comparative intradermal TSTs, M. bovis sensitized cattle responded with greater intensity to additional SF-PPD antigens as compared to M. bovis infected cattle at seven weeks post infection/sensitization. In conclusion M. bovis sensitized cattle generated a more intense antibody response and recognized additional SF-PPD antigens as compared to M. bovis infected cattle within the first two months post infection/sensitization.