Validation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv1681 protein as a diagnostic marker of active pulmonary tuberculosis.

The development of an accurate antigen detection assay for the diagnosis of active tuberculosis (TB) would represent a major clinical advance. Here, we demonstrate that the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv1681 protein is a biomarker for active TB with potential diagnostic utility. We initially identified, by mass spectroscopy, peptides from the Rv1681 protein in urine specimens from 4 patients with untreated active TB. Rabbit IgG anti-recombinant Rv1681 detected Rv1681 protein in lysates and culture filtrates of M. tuberculosis and immunoprecipitated it from pooled urine specimens from two TB patients. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay formatted with these antibodies detected Rv1681 protein in unconcentrated urine specimens from 11/25 (44%) TB patients and 1/21 (4.8%) subjects in whom TB was initially clinically suspected but then ruled out by conventional methods. Rv1681 protein was not detected in urine specimens from 10 subjects with Escherichia coli-positive urine cultures, 26 subjects with confirmed non-TB tropical diseases (11 with schistosomiasis, 5 with Chagas' disease, and 10 with cutaneous leishmaniasis), and 14 healthy subjects. These results provide strong validation of Rv1681 protein as a promising biomarker for TB diagnosis.