A protein antigen of Mycobacterium leprae is related to a family of small heat shock proteins

Abstract

The gene encoding an immunologically important 18-kilodalton protein antigen of Mycobacterium leprae has been sequenced, and the amino acid sequence of the antigen has been deduced. The 18-kilodalton antigen is strikingly similar in size and sequence to a family of eucaryotic heat shock proteins.