FIG 2.
Identification of 15-mer epitopes from immunogenic M. tuberculosis ribosomal proteins. Mice (C57BL/6) (n = 3) were immunized with 5 × 107 CFU IKEPLUS i.v. Two weeks later, CD4+ T cells were purified from splenocytes and tested for IFN-γ production by an ELISPOT assay in response to ex vivo stimulation with 109 mycobacterial ribosomal peptides (10 μg/ml) derived from 10 M. tuberculosis ribosomal proteins, as indicated. Responses that are significantly different from those under the control DMSO conditions by ANOVA are indicated (*, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001). Positive-control wells were stimulated with purified M. smegmatis ribosomes (Ribosome) (5 nM) or RplJTB146–160 peptide (RPLJ) (10 μg/ml). Data shown represent mean values and standard errors for duplicate samples and are representative of results from two independent experiments.