Briefly, one immunotube (Nunc, Roskilde-Denmark) was coated with anti-immunoglobulin in 100?mM NaHCO3, pH?8.6 at 5?g/1.5?mL and incubated overnight at 4C. selected phage clones were chemically synthesized. A pilot study was undertaken to assess the use of peptides in skin assessments. The intradermal challenge with peptides in animals previously sensitized with induced a delayed-type hypersensitivity with peptide 5A (2/5) and peptide 1B (1/5). In positive controls, there Solcitinib (GSK2586184) was a 3/5 reactivity for lepromin and a 4/5 reactivity of the sensitized animals with soluble extract of that affects the skin and the peripheral nervous system [1]. This disease Solcitinib (GSK2586184) constitutes a public health problem in countries such as Brazil [2], where large numbers of patients with sequelae as a result of neural damages are still observed every year [3]. Upon the introduction of multidrug therapy in Solcitinib (GSK2586184) 1981 by the WHO, the prevalence of leprosy has been dramatically reduced, but over the last 5?years, more than 200,000 Solcitinib (GSK2586184) new cases have been detected each year [4]. These more recent data show that this transmission of leprosy still goes on [5], which makes it obvious that new strategies – besides treatment – are necessary to eliminate the disease as a public health problem. Leprosy presents a wide range of clinical manifestations determined by the immune response of the individual against the bacillus. Tuberculoid leprosy patients show a response that limits pathogen growth and result in few lesions made up of rare (or absence of) bacilli however, nerve damage is usually often present. Lepromatous leprosy patients are susceptible to disseminated contamination. Skin lesions are numerous and there is an uncontrolled proliferation of leprosy bacilli. Such clinical presentations correlate to the level of cell-mediated immunity (CMI) against from different origins and submitted to different processes of purification are the basis for different types of preparations employed in skin assessments. Among those preparations, the most frequently used is usually lepromin, which corresponds to a suspension of heat-killed bacilli [7]. As is not cultivated (CPPI) is the only supplier of lepromin antigen for the Brazilian Department of Health, and its production is based on lepromas obtained from lepromatous leprosy patients. This is a difficult process because the production of the antigen depends on access to rare lepromas that may be contaminated with other species of mycobacteria [10]. In addition, the strategy is usually associated with the risk of manipulation and inoculation Solcitinib (GSK2586184) of human biological material. An alternative for replacing whole cells or purified fractions of is to use synthetic peptides. Previous studies have exhibited delayed-type hypersensitivity responses to peptides in skin assessments [11,12]. Aiming at obtaining alternative diagnostic materials for leprosy, peptides binding antibody from multibacillary leprosy patients were selected from phage displayed peptide libraries and assessed in their capacity to induce cell response in guinea-pigs sensitized with H37Rv (ATCC 27294) strain was obtained from the whole cells isolated from armadillo liver were kindly supplied by Dr. J. S. Spencer from Colorado State University or college (Fort Collins-USA) through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health under contract N01-AI-25469. Bacilli in 0.9% NaCl containing 100?g/mL phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and 2?mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were broken by sonication (Sonopuls HD 2200, Bandelin, Berlin-Germany) four cycles of 15?moments [13]. Following lysis, the soluble portion was separated by centrifugation at 10000??g for 20?moments at 4C, and the Bmpr2 protein concentration was determined using the Quant-iT Protein Assay kit (Invitrogen, California-USA). Patient serum samples Serum samples of 10 paucibacillary patients (PB), 23 multibacillary patients (MB), and 26 household contacts were obtained. The samples were collected at the (Piraquara, Paran-Brazil), (Curitiba, Paran-Brazil), (Curitiba, Paran-Brazil), and at (S?o Jer?nimo da Serra, Paran-Brazil). Among the leprosy patients,.