Proliferative response to seven affinity purified mycobacterial antigens in eight strains of inbred mice.

This study compares the T-cell-stimulating ability of different mycobacterial antigens. The responses to crude culture filtrates and seven affinity-purified antigens were investigated in eight strains of inbred mice. Large differences in the stimulating abilities of the antigens were observed, and four antigens were found to give a powerful T-cell stimulation. Some antigens divided the strains into high and low responders, while a 17-kDa antigen was found to be exceedingly T-cell stimulatory in mice of all tested haplotypes. The responses of the eight strains were analyzed by comparing the response patterns of the strains. Using a statistical model based on antigen ranking, five strains were found to have a similar response pattern; three strains were found to differ. These results demonstrate the significance of the choice of mouse strain in studies of mycobacterial immunology and, furthermore, indicate that when research is conducted to develop new mycobacterial vaccines, it is important to include panels of antigens.