A recombinant 64 kilodalton protein of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin specifically stimulates human T4 clones reactive to mycobacterial antigens

A recombinant 64 kD protein of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) (antigen A), which amounted to approximately 2% of an E. coli lysate, was tested for its capacity to stimulate human T4 clones reactive to mycobacterial proteins. Two out of four crossreactive clones, established from a patient with tuberculoid leprosy, which could be stimulated by protein preparations of M. leprae and M. tuberculosis, and by particulate M. bovis BCG were also reactive to antigen A without further enrichment from E. coli lysate. In addition, BCG-reactive T cell clones from two of three healthy PPD+ donors reacted with antigen A. This finding shows that human T cell clones may be useful for probing gene-cloned proteins of potential value for vaccination against diseases where protection is mediated exclusively by T cells.