{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T02:20:21Z","timestamp":1787019621801,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Microbiol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2011,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Recently our group has identified a novel antigen of\n                      <jats:italic>Mycobacterium tuberculosis<\/jats:italic>\n                      , protein PPE44, belonging to the \"PPE protein\" family. Although its role in infection is largely unknown, PPE44-specific immune responses were detected in mice infected with\n                      <jats:italic>M. tuberculosis<\/jats:italic>\n                      ; moreover, immunization of mice with PPE44 subunit vaccines resulted in protective efficacy comparable to the one afforded by BCG against\n                      <jats:italic>M. tuberculosis<\/jats:italic>\n                      (Romano\n                      <jats:italic>et al<\/jats:italic>\n                      ., Vaccine 26, 6053-6063, 2008).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In the present paper, we investigated anti-PPE44 T-lymphocyte responses during human infection by evaluating the frequency of PPE44-specific interferon (IFN)-\u03b3-secreting cells by ELISpot and flow cytometry in a small cohort of healthy subjects that had proven positive to PPD (PPD\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      )\n                      <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic>\n                      , in patients with active tuberculosis, in subjects vaccinated with BCG and in unvaccinated, PPD\n                      <jats:sup>-<\/jats:sup>\n                      healthy controls. We showed IFN-\u03b3\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      T cell immune responses to recombinant PPE44 in at least a very high proportion of PPD\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      individuals tested and, to a lower extent, in subjects vaccinated with BCG. By the use of a panel of overlapping synthetic 20-mer peptides spanning the PPE44 primary amino acid sequence, we identified a strong CD4\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      T-cell epitope, encompassed by peptide p1L (VDFGALPPEVNSARMYGGAG), in the NH\n                      <jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>\n                      -terminus of the PPE44 molecule at the amino acid position 1-20. Conversely, our experiments did not provide evidence of a significant IFN-\u03b3\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      CD4\n                      <jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup>\n                      T cell response to PPE44 or its immunodominant peptide p1L in most (7 out of 8) patients with active TB.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Our data suggest an important immunological role of PPE44 and its immunodominant epitope p1L that could be useful in the design of anti-tuberculosis vaccines and in the immunological diagnosis of\n                      <jats:italic>M. tuberculosis<\/jats:italic>\n                      infection.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2180-11-167","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2011,7,26]],"date-time":"2011-07-26T02:17:51Z","timestamp":1311646671000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Identification of a human immunodominant T-cell epitope of mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen PPE44"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Barbara","family":"Cuccu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giulia","family":"Freer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alessandro","family":"Genovesi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carlo","family":"Garzelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Rindi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2011,7,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"1450_CR1","unstructured":"World Health Organization. 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