Proteomic analysis of purified protein derivative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Thottethodi Subrahmanya Keshava Prasad, Renu Verma, Satish Kumar, Raja Sekhar Nirujogi, Gajanan J Sathe, Anil K Madugundu, Jyoti Sharma, Vinuth N Puttamallesh, Anjali Ganjiwale, Vithal P Myneedu, Aditi Chatterjee, Akhilesh Pandey, HC Harsha, Jayasuryan Narayana

Purified protein derivative (PPD) has been used for more than half a century as an antigen for the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection based on delayed type hypersensitivity. Although designated as "purified," in reality, the composition of PPD is highly complex and remains ill-defined. In this report, high resolution mass spectrometry was applied to understand the complexity of its constituent components. A comparative proteomic analysis of various PPD preparations and their functional characterization is likely to help in short-listing the relevant antigens required to prepare a less complex and more potent reagent for diagnostic purposes.