ISSN 2756-3391
African Journal of Parasitology Research ISSN 2756-3391 Vol. 13 (3), pp. 001-006, March, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Potential of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Cord Factor Antigen for Laboratory Diagnosis of Tuberculous Meningitis
Mathai A1, Neelima R1, Nair MD2 and Radhakrishnan VV1 *
1Departments of Pathology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum- 695 011; Kerala State, India.
2 Departments of Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum- 695 011;
Kerala State, India.
Accepted 14 January, 2025
In this retrospective study, an indirect enzyme- linked - immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was standardized to measure the IgG antibody titers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens against cord factor antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and evaluated its application for the laboratory diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). ELISA with cord factor antigen was specific and did not yield false positive result in any one of the 80 CSF specimens of patients with non-tuberculous neurological diseases. The assay showed an overall sensitivity of 86.66 % in 50 patients with a clinical diagnosis of TBM. Based on the results of this study, it is being recommended that cord factor antigen of M tuberculosis has potential application for the diagnosis particularly in patients in whom the bacteriological methods in CSFs did not confirm the diagnosis of TBM.
Key words: Tuberculous meningitis (TBM); Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Cord factor-Trehalose 6- 6’ dimycolate (TDM); Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); Enzyme-Linked- Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).