Publications

preliminary observations on experimental leprosy in tupaias (tupaia belangeri yunalis).	the tupaia belangeri yunalis (tree shrew) is one of the primitive primates. they were inoculated subcutaneously in the footpad or intravenously with mycobacterium leprae from a patient with multibacillary leprosy. as controls, the footpads of cfw mice were inoculated with the same suspension of m. leprae. the results showed growth of acid-fast bacilli (afb) in the footpads of locally inoculated cfw mice and in the footpads of both locally and intravenously inoculated tupaias. whereas the numbers ...	1990	2181220
antibodies to the phenolic glycolipid-1 antigen for epidemiologic investigations of enzootic leprosy in armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus).	other than man, nine-banded armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus) are the only known natural hosts of leprosy with high rates of disease. the origin, range and risk of their infection is not yet clear and a better description of the rate of leprosy over the armadillo's range is needed. both histopathological examination of armadillo ear tissues and serologic screening for igm antibodies to the phenolic glycolipid-1 (pgl-1) antigen of mycobacterium leprae are good relative indices of enzootic prevale ...	1990	2181221
mycobacterium leprae reactive t cell clones from lepromatous leprosy patients after prolonged dapsone chemotherapy.	the proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc) to mycobacterium leprae and bcg were studied in two groups of leprosy patients: a group of 8 lepromatous patients who had been on treatment for more than 20 years (tll) and a group of 8 untreated lepromatous leprosy patients (ull). the mean response to m. leprae of the tll group was 6195 cpm with 5 of the 8 patients responding positively. the mean response to m. leprae of the ull group was 617 cpm, with only 1 patient showi ...	1990	2181222
[detection of amastigotes in cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis using the immunoperoxidase method, using polyclonal antibody: sensibility and specificity compared with conventional methods of diagnosis].	the indirect immunoperoxidase method was evaluated in 265 biopsies with the purpose of increasing the sensitivity of the diagnostic histopathology of tegumentary lesions caused by subspecies of the leishmania braziliensis complex. a diagnosis of leishmaniasis was established by parasitological methods (181) or clinical criteria (12) in 193 patients (72.8%). in the latter group of confirmed cases standard histochemistry and immunoperoxidase were compared with direct examination of tissue scraping ...	1989	2181244
nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence of a mycobacterium leprae 12k protein.		1990	2181404
novel gelatin particle agglutination test for serodiagnosis of leprosy in the field.	we developed a novel gelatin particle agglutination test (mlpa) for the serodiagnosis of leprosy; this test is especially useful for clinical practice and epidemiological surveys of leprosy in countries in which the disease is endemic. the antigen used in the test is the chemically synthesized trisaccharide moiety of mycobacterium leprae-specific phenolic glycolipid i. mlpa is a simple and easy technique having sensitivity and specificity comparable to those of the conventional indirect enzyme-l ...	1990	2182670
atopy and ige in patients with leprosy.	the atopic status of patients with leprosy was assessed by medical history, physical examination, serum total ige, and specific ige antibodies to common allergens (by skin testing and rast). tests for specific ige antibody to mycobacterium leprae were performed by rast and immunoblotting technique. we studied 28 patients with leprosy and 49 control subjects. the two groups did not differ significantly in the prevalence of atopic disease. the ige level was significantly higher in the patients, ho ...	1990	2182698
comparative in vitro activities of 20 fluoroquinolones against mycobacterium leprae.	the in vitro activities of 20 fluoroquinolones against mycobacterium leprae were evaluated by using the bactec 460 system. m. leprae was incubated in bactec 12b medium at 33 degrees c under reduced oxygen for 2 to 3 weeks in the presence of fluoroquinolones at 0.31 to 5 micrograms/ml. activity was determined by a reduction in 14co2 evolution compared with that of drug-free controls. of the commercially available agents, ofloxacin was most active, while enoxacin and norfloxacin were inactive. how ...	1990	2183714
evidence that coating of mycobacterium leprae surface antigens reduces its ability to hinder host microbicidal functions.	mycobacterium leprae extracted and purified from experimentally infected armadillo was coated with rabbit sera raised against the total antigens of the following species of mycobacteria: m. leprae, m. avium, m. bovis bcg, and m. fallax. in addition, the bacteria were also coated either with serum from a lepromatous (ll), or a tuberculoid (tt) leprosy patient. the effectiveness of surface coating was verified by electron microscopy, with the aid of gold immunolabelling. the coated bacilli were ph ...	1990	2184820
vaccines against leprosy.		1990	2185784
in vitro and in vivo experiments with the new inhibitor of mycobacterium leprae brodimoprim alone and in combination with dapsone.	the antibacterial effect of brodimoprim alone and in combination with dapsone has been studied in vitro in cell-free systems and in whole mycobacterial cells as well as in vivo in mice and humans. the obtained inhibitory effects in vitro and in vivo against model mycobacterial strains and m. leprae, the pharmacokinetic properties in human and its synergistic effect with the most used drug in the chemotherapy of leprosy, dapsone, make brodimoprim a promising candidate in the therapy of leprosy.	1990	2187440
cultivation of a nocardioform acid-fast chemoautotrophic bacterium from armadillo tissues infected with mycobacterium leprae.	a nocardioform bacterium was isolated from the spleen tissue of an armadillo infected with m. leprae and easily propagated in pure culture in mineral salt medium supplemented with only simple c and n sources (e.g., liquid paraffin, tetradecane, ammonium salts, urea, asparagine, gelatin, xanthin, hypoxanthin etc.). complex organic substances, e.g., tyrosin, casein, peptone, meat extract, egg proteins, serum, blood, yeast extract as well as medium 199, did not support the growth of this organism. ...	1990	2188909
[leprosy. pathogenesis--classification--diagnosis--treatment].	leprosy (hanseniasis) is caused by chronic infection with mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae). the disease involves primarily the superficial peripheral nerves and the skin, but almost any organ can be affected. the clinical features vary and are determined by the host's immune response to the infection. a distinction is made between multibacillary and paucibacillary forms of leprosy. the multibacillary forms are lepromatous, borderline-lepromatous and borderline-borderline leprosy; the paucibacill ...	1990	2188935
biosynthesis and scavenging of pyrimidines by pathogenic mycobacteria.	mycobacterium microti incorporated a wide range of exogenously supplied pyrimidines into its nucleic acids. m. avium incorporated a relatively narrow range of pyrimidines but both m. avium and m. microti when recovered after growth in vivo incorporated a slightly wider range of pyrimidines than the same strains grown in vitro. m. microti and m. leprae could not take up uridine nucleotides directly but could utilize the pyrimidines by hydrolysing them to uridine and then taking up the uridine. py ...	1990	2191077
aspartate metabolism in mycobacterium avium grown in host tissue and axenically and in mycobacterium leprae.	aspartokinase activity was detected in extracts from mycobacterium leprae (recovered from armadillo liver) and in mycobacterium avium grown axenically and in vivo. homoserine dehydrogenase activity was only detected in m. leprae and in m. avium grown axenically. activities, when detected, were 50 to 70% lower in m. leprae or m. avium grown in vivo than in axenically grown m. avium. in these two pathogenic mycobacteria, aspartokinase and homoserine dehydrogenase are subject to feedback inhibition ...	1990	2191078
enzymes for biosynthesis de novo and elongation of fatty acids in mycobacteria grown in host cells: is mycobacterium leprae competent in fatty acid biosynthesis?	fatty acid synthetase activity in extracts of mycobacterium leprae was equivalent to 1.7 pmol malonyl-coa incorporated into fatty acid min-1 (mg protein)-1. this activity--if representative of living m. leprae organisms--is insufficient to enable them to synthesize their lipid requirements rapidly enough to support growth. the major activity for scavenging fatty acids in extracts of mycobacterium microti and mycobacterium avium, as well as in extracts of m. leprae, was acetyl-coa-dependent fatty ...	1990	2191079
the use of a specific dna probe and polymerase chain reaction for the detection of mycobacterium leprae.	a dna probe encoding approximately 80% of the 18-kda protein gene of mycobacterium leprae was isolated and tested for specificity by assessing hybridization of the probe to genomic dna from taxonomically related and unrelated dna samples. the 360-base-pair (bp) probe was specific for m. leprae dna and did not hybridize with genomic dna from 18 species of bacteria nor with dna from human, murine, and armadillo sources. oligonucleotide primers were synthesized corresponding to the 5' and 3' ends o ...	1990	2192005
antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-1 of mycobacterium leprae in urine of leprosy patients.		1990	2192009
[serodiagnosis of leprosy].		1990	2192137
phagocytosis of mycobacterium leprae by cardiac muscle cells--a preliminary report.	fetal cardiac muscle cells were shown to ingest m. leprae easily within 20 minutes of exposure in vitro. this phagocytosis is considered nonspecific and facilitated by the lipid coat of the mycobacteria. the presence of m. leprae free in the cytoplasm of the muscle cells did not seriously affect the morphology or rhythmic contractions of the cells. the significance of the presence of m. leprae in somatic cells needs further study.	1990	2193061
comparative evaluation of enzyme immunoassays based on synthetic glycoconjugates and phenolic glycolipid-i for immunodiagnosis of leprosy.	enzyme immunoassays (eias) based on synthetic glycoconjugates containing the terminal monosaccharide (m-bgg) or disaccharide (nd-bsa) residue of the trisaccharide component of phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i), for immunodiagnosis of leprosy are described. the results of the assays were compared with that of the eia using pgl-i. all the three assays were highly specific for leprosy. the per cent positivity of active lepromatous leprosy (ll) patients with m-bgg was 78.05 in comparison to 85.36 with n ...	1990	2193062
an in vitro culture method for screening new drugs against mycobacterium leprae.	an in vitro culture system has been devised for the maintenance and growth of m. leprae in a cell-free medium. cells from four-week old cultures could be transferred to fresh medium and normal growth was observed in subcultures. using this system, the m.i.cs of dapsone and rifampicin were determined. dapsone at 25 ng/ml and rifampicin at 300 ng/ml completely inhibited the growth of host-grown as well as in vitro-adapted m. leprae. it was further shown that the effects of both the drugs were bact ...	1990	2193063
effect of brodimoprim on mycobacterium leprae in vitro and in mouse foot-pads.	the new in vitro screening system reported earlier was adopted to determine anti-m. leprae activity of a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, brodimoprim, and the results were compared with those obtained using mouse foot-pad technique. even though the mic of brodimoprim against m. leprae was very high compared to other commonly used anti-leprosy drugs, in combination with dapsone it showed a remarkable synergistic activity in inhibiting the growth of m. leprae at concentrations much lower than th ...	1990	2193064
clinical trial of pefloxacin and ofloxacin in the treatment of lepromatous leprosy.	twenty-one previously untreated lepromatous patients were randomized into two groups and treated with either 800 mg pefloxacin (peflo) or 400 mg ofloxacin (oflo) once daily. the trial consisted of two parts: monotherapy from day 0 to day 56; and combined with the world health organization multidrug therapy (who/mdt) regimen for multibacillary (mb) leprosy from day 57 to day 180. four patients were removed from the trial because the organisms recovered from their pretreatment biopsies failed to i ...	1990	2198315
rapid serodiagnosis for leprosy--a preliminary study on latex agglutination test.	in this study, we have developed two latex agglutination tests (lats) with phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) and natural disaccharide-octyl-bovine serum albumin (nd-o-bsa) as antigens in 110 leprosy patients (ll = 30, bl = 30, bt = 30, and tt = 20), 50 tuberculosis cases, and 30 normal controls. these two lats were compared with corresponding elisas (nd-o-bsa elisa and pgl-i elisa) and analyzed by the chi-squared test. there were no significant differences between the two lats (pgl-i lat and nd-o-bs ...	1990	2198316
a quantitative study of the relationship between systemic and histological parameters of immunity in individual leprosy patients.	a group of 52 untreated leprosy patients were examined to determine the relationship between local and systemic immunological parameters across the clinico-pathological spectrum. the ridley-jopling classification, bacterial index (bi), and granuloma fraction (gf) were assessed in biopsies from 40 cases. the densities of apoptoses, mitoses, and plasma cells were also measured. systemic immunity to mycobacteria was assessed by skin tests with leprosin a and ppd, and by measurement of the serum ant ...	1990	2198317
the pathology of the eye in armadillos experimentally infected with mycobacterium leprae.	one hundred and twenty-seven eyes from 66 mycobacterium leprae inoculated armadillos were studied histologically and some ultrastructurally. inflammatory reactions were found in the following extraocular tissues: the eyelid, including the orbicularis muscle and the third eyelid, extraocular muscles, tear gland and harder's gland. the early and slight changes of the intraocular tissues, small amounts of lymphocytes, plasma cells and macrophage infiltrations were confined to the area around the an ...	1990	2198412
experiences with mycobacterium leprae soluble antigens in a leprosy endemic population.	rees and convit antigens prepared from armadillo-derived mycobacterium leprae were used for skin testing in two leprosy endemic villages to understand their use in the epidemiology of leprosy. in all, 2602 individuals comprising 202 patients with leprosy detected in a prevalence survey, 476 household contacts and 1924 persons residing in non-case households were tested with two antigens. there was a strong and positive correlation (r = 0.85) between reactions to the rees and convit antigens. the ...	1990	2198413
evaluation of five treatment regimens, using either dapsone monotherapy or several doses of rifampicin in the treatment of paucibacillary leprosy.	the objective of the present study was to define short-course treatment regimens for pb leprosy and to compare them with the 'classical' dapsone treatment and the who-pb regimen. five treatment regimens were studied and evaluated by the histologic evolution. the regimens were: (1) dapsone 100 mg daily, non-supervised for 3 years; (2) rmp 900 mg supervised, once weekly, 8 doses; (3) idem 12 doses; (4) rmp 600 mg, once monthly, supervised, 6 doses and during this treatment dapsone 100 mg daily uns ...	1990	2198414
a study of relapse in paucibacillary leprosy in a multidrug therapy project, baroda district, india.	in order to judge the value of therapeutic regimens in paucibacillary leprosy, knowledge of incubation time of relapses is essential, as this will define the length of time patients have to be followed up after treatment has been stopped. the prospective study of relapse includes paucibacillary cases of leprosy belonging to a non-lepromatous group consisting of tuberculoid, neuritic and indeterminate. data are presented on the incubation time of 21 relapses after multidrug therapy in baroda dist ...	1990	2198415
severity of leprosy eye lesions in armadillos infected with mycobacterium leprae.		1990	2198417
an n.m.r. and conformational analysis of the terminal trisaccharide from the serologically active glycolipid of mycobacterium leprae in different solvents.	the 1h- and 13c-n.m.r. spectra of allyl 2-o-[4-o-(3,6-di-o-methyl-beta-d-glucopyranosyl)-2,3-di-o-methyl-alpha-l -rhamnopyranosyl]-3-o-methyl-alpha-l-rhamnopyranoside (3), a glycoside of the terminal trisaccharide found in the phenolic glycolipid i from mycobacterium leprae, and those of the two component disaccharides, allyl 4-o-(3,6-di-o-methyl-beta-d-glucopyranosyl)-2,3-di-o- methyl-alpha-l-rhamnopyranoside (1) and allyl 2-o-(2,3-di-o-methyl-alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl)-3-o-methyl-alpha-l- rhamno ...	1990	2199038
specific identification of mycobacterium leprae by the polymerase chain reaction.	oligonucleotide primers have been used to amplify dna regions of the m. leprae genome by the polymerase chain reaction. a first set of primers, plp1 and plp2, identifies a specific 386 bp dna fragment located in the gene coding for the 65 kda antigen of m. leprae. a second pair of primers, targetted to the same gene, leads to the amplification of a 154 bp dna piece conserved in mycobacteria. primers plp1 and plp2 discriminate the pathogenic species from other mycobacteria, detect down to 40 baci ...	1990	2199822
in situ demonstration of mycobacterium leprae antigens in leprosy lesions using monoclonal antibodies.	cryostat sections of skin and nerve lesions of leprosy were stained with monoclonal antibodies recognising mycobacterium leprae antigens and indirect immunofluorescence. in both the tuberculoid and lepromatous lesions, pgl1, 55-65-kda, 17-kda protein antigens and cross-reactive non-protein antigens were present. 65-kda antigens were seen mainly in the skin lesions of lepromatous leprosy. the infiltrates in both the skin and nerve granulomas of tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy showed membranou ...	1990	2200752
opportunistic infections in aids in developed and developing countries.	the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) is fundamentally the same disease in all parts of the world, but the prevalence of microorganisms in an environment governs the patterns of disease arising from reactivated latent infections, invading pathogens and opportunistic infections. aids in africa has certain characteristic presentations. enteropathic aids is most common: cryptosporidium and isospora belli are identified in up to 60% of patients, but it is uncertain whether they are the caus ...	1990	2201107
the major native proteins of the leprosy bacillus.	this study addresses a major obstacle to vaccine development for leprosy, the isolation and characterization of the native protein antigens of the leprosy bacillus. mycobacterium leprae harvested from armadillos was subjected to a simple fractionation protocol to arrive at the three major subcellular fractions, cell walls, cytoplasmic membrane, and soluble cytoplasm. the application of extensive detergent phase separations to membrane fractions allowed removal of lipoarabinomannan and the mannos ...	1990	2201679
iron-regulated envelope proteins of mycobacteria grown in vitro and their occurrence in mycobacterium avium and mycobacterium leprae grown in vivo.	several iron-regulated envelope proteins (ireps), 11-180 kda, have been detected in preparations of walls and membranes of mycobacterium smegmatis, in an armadillo-derived mycobacterium (adm) and in m. avium. the same sized proteins from m. vacae appeared under both iron-deficient and iron-sufficient growth conditions. two larger proteins, of 240 and 250 kda, appeared in the membranes of m. smegmatis and m. avium only when grown iron-sufficiently but were constitutively present in both adm and m ...	1990	2202378
comparison of igm, igg and iga responses to m.leprae specific antigens in leprosy.	antibodies of igm, igg and iga classes against m.leprae specific antigens (pgl-i, nd-o-bsa, and nt-o-bsa) were determined in the sera of 80 leprosy patients (28 untreated, 34 treated lepromatous and 18 tuberculoid), 25 tuberculosis patients and 33 normal individuals of northern thailand. no strong distinction in reactivity could be found between the three antigens. the igm antibody assay yielded more positive results than assays for igg and iga. it was found that the positivity rates of igm anti ...	1990	2203362
nucleotide sequence and deduced amino acid sequence of mycobacterium leprae gene showing homology to bacterial atp operon.		1990	2204033
acid-fast bacilli in semen; correlation with bacterial index.	thirty multibacillary patients (12 ll, 18 bl) were historically reviewed and clinically assessed for evidence of testicular involvement. the bacterial index (bi) of the patients ranged from 1+ to 6+; the morphological index (mi), from 0% to 3%. nine (30%) patients had oligospermia, while acid-fast bacilli (afb) were demonstrable in the semen of 3 (10%) patients (2 ll, 1 bl). there was a significant correlation between the bi and the demonstration of afb in semen (p less than 0.01).	1990	2205682
operational value of serological measurements in multibacillary leprosy patients: clinical and bacteriological correlates of antibody responses.	the antibody responses of 100 previously untreated multibacillary (mb) leprosy patients to one protein and two carbohydrate antigens were examined: 94% of the patients had mycobacterium leprae-specific antibodies; 89% directed to the species-specific epitope on phenolic glycolipid (pgl-i), 89% against the specific epitope on the 35-kda protein, and 94% against one or both of the two. by contrast, 67% of the patients had anti-lipoarabinomannan (lam) antibodies. there were trends for the seroposit ...	1990	2205683
quantitation of igm antibodies to the m. leprae synthetic disaccharide can predict early bacterial multiplication in leprosy.	quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays detecting igm to the soluble mycobacterium leprae crude sonicate (cd75) and the synthetic disaccharide antigen coupled to bovine serum albumin (nd-bsa) were assessed for their ability to determine early infection in families/household contacts of leprosy patients and employees of a leprosy center working in close contact with leprosy patients. although igm to both antigens (cd75 and nd-bsa) correlated with the bacterial index (bi) assessed histolog ...	1990	2205684
sequential monitoring of leprosy patients with serum antibody levels to phenolic glycolipid-i, a synthetic analog of phenolic glycolipid-i, and mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan.	sequential serum samples from leprosy patients at various stages of antibacterial treatment were tested by an elisa for antibodies to phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i), a synthetic pgl-i analog (nd-bsa), and lipoarabinomannan (lam) from mycobacterium tuberculosis to determine if these antibodies could be useful in monitoring response to therapy. among patients with positive initial anti-pgl-i igm, a significant decrease in this antibody was seen over time (p less than 0.01), whether assayed by pgl-i ...	1990	2205685
assessment of anti-phenolic glycolipid-i igm levels using an elisa for detection of m. leprae infection in populations of the south pacific islands.	anti-phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) igm levels were determined in 96% of the general population of the southern marquesas and maupiti, remote islands of french polynesia, where the average annual detection rates of leprosy during the past 30 years have been 57.1 and 4.4 per 100,000, respectively. the seropositivity in these two areas was 4.3% and 4.2%, respectively. no significant difference (p greater than 0.05) was found between either these two figures or between the percentages of persons wit ...	1990	2205686
uptake of purine and pyrimidine nucleosides by macrophage-resident mycobacterium leprae: 3h-adenosine as an indicator of viability and antimicrobial activity.	freshly extracted human- and armadillo-derived mycobacterium leprae maintained within murine macrophages incorporated significant levels (p less than 0.05 to p less than 0.001) of 3h-adenosine and 3h-hypoxanthine by 6 and 9 days of the culture period. the incorporation of 3h-adenosine was twofold or more higher than 3h-thymidine in 10 out of 15 human-derived m. leprae isolates. macrophage-adapted bacilli incorporated 10-14-fold higher levels of 3h-adenosine compared to the same bacilli maintaine ...	1990	2205687
antigenic protein from mycobacterium leprae released in macrophages in vitro as indicator of viability of bacteria.	peritoneal macrophages from randombred, swiss white mice, when cultured and infected with mycobacterium leprae for 24 hours, are able to show the presence of antigen(s) with binding affinity to antibodies present in the sera of bacteriologically positive, lepromatous leprosy patients. such antibodies are not seen in sera from normal and healthy persons, tuberculoid leprosy patients, or long-term-treated, bacteriologically negative, lepromatous leprosy patients. the production of the antigen(s) i ...	1990	2205688
ocular leprosy in nine-banded armadillos following intrastromal inoculation.	leprosy shows a higher percentage of ocular involvement than any other systemic infection. in humans, the cornea is the first ocular tissue affected. our previous studies in armadillos with naturally acquired and experimental disseminated leprosy showed that 44% had corneal infection. mycobacterium leprae is found in armadillo burrows in louisiana, u.s.a., and ocular abrasions may be the portal of entry for these organisms in wild armadillos. to test the cornea as a route of infection, we inject ...	1990	2205689
leprosy vaccines.		1990	2205690
further comments on leprosy vaccination.		1990	2205691
mode of transmission and histology of m. leprae infection in nude mice.	athymic (nude) mice were experimentally infected with mycobacterium leprae via the alimentary and respiratory tracts and through the skin. animals were allowed to inhale aerosols of m. leprae or had bacilli instilled into the nostrils or directly into the lungs. others were fed m. leprae by gastric tube or had bacilli placed on the tongue. attempts were also made to transmit m. leprae from infected footpads by aedes aegyptii mosquitoes. the most successful infections resulted from nasal instilla ...	1990	2206990
evidence for the nature of the link between the arabinogalactan and peptidoglycan of mycobacterial cell walls.	the long-posed question of the nature of the link between the mycolylarabinogalactan and the underlying peptidoglycan of the cell walls of mycobacterium sp. has been addressed. the insoluble cell wall matrix of mycobacterium leprae, mycobacterium tuberculosis, and mycobacterium bovis was partially hydrolyzed with acid either before or after per-o-methylation and the resulting oligosaccharides further derivatized and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. the structures of fragments ar ...	1990	2211696
early infection with m. leprae and antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-i in the nine-banded armadillo.	nine-banded armadillos were intravenously infected with 10(9) m. leprae. igm antibodies to pgl-i were evaluated three times during the six months before and every two months after the infection. a thorough autopsy examination was done on animals that died or were sacrificed at intervals of 3, 4, 6, 12, 15 and 18 months after the infection. three animals which had acquired the infection in the wild and one experimentally infected animal showed significant increases in antibody levels correspondin ...	1990	2212734
possible multiplication of m. leprae (?) on skin and nail bed of a laboratory worker.		1990	2212740
the evolution of antibody response in armadillos inoculated with mycobacterium leprae.	plasma from 30 armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus) was collected prior to inoculation and at approximately 3-month intervals for a period of 1-3 years. these animals were inoculated intravenously with 6.1 x 10(8) +/- 2 x 10(8) (x +/- sd) armadillo-derived mycobacterium leprae. these samples were analysed for antibodies of igm and igg class to phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) and to sonicated m. leprae components using elisa and immunoblotting techniques, respectively. we had previously observed among ...	1990	2215054
the anatomical distribution of single leprosy lesions in an african population, and its implications for the pathogenesis of leprosy.	data on the anatomical sites of single leprosy lesions found in 635 newly diagnosed and biopsy-confirmed leprosy patients are presented. these patients were found during total population surveys carried out by the lepra evaluation project, a prospective longitudinal study of the epidemiology of leprosy in karonga district, northern malaŵi. there was a striking excess of single lesions on the face and the back of the arms, compared to the distribution of skin surface area, and a deficit on the le ...	1990	2215057
effect of treatment on immune responsiveness in lepromatous leprosy patients.	this study was performed in order to analyse whether the immune unresponsiveness to mycobacterium leprae, largely seen in lepromatous patients, persisted after discharge from treatment. lymphoproliferation and skin tests were performed using two mycobacterial antigens (m. leprae and bcg) in three groups of lepromatous patients grouped by treatment status. forty-seven per cent of the lepromatous patients tested acquired reactivity to m. leprae after long-term treatment.	1990	2215058
lymphocyte blastogenesis and lepromin reactivity in leprosy patients and their parents.	to determine whether there is an inherited familiar trait linked to the lymphocyte blastogenesis test (ltt), under stimulation with pha, lepromin and mycobacterium leprae in culture medium containing autologous plasma, this test was carried out in patients with the polar forms of leprosy and their parents. the lepromin reaction was also studied in the patients and their parents because, since the test is negative in lepromatous (l) patients and a greater proportion of negativity is detected amon ...	1990	2220296
the demystification of leprosy: a multifactorial problem.	abolishment of misbeliefs and misconceptions, unfounded fear and prejudice are factors as important in leprosy control as prevention, early detection and therapy. concrete measures of demystification are proposed. identify and divulge the absolute truth about leprosy. calling leprosy "hansen's disease" did not result in demystification. patients know that the two terms are identical. treating them as human beings attracts more patients to the healers than the hansenologian ritual. contrary to st ...	1990	2220303
[the modelling of chronic infection (experimental leprosy) against a background of macrophagal immunodeficiency].	the dynamics of mycobacterial multiplication was followed in mice with intraplantar leprosy infection and preinduced macrophage insufficiency. the characteristics of shepard's model appeared to be similar to those of the method proposed by the authors including the susceptibility to the main antileprosy drugs. peritoneal macrophages were cytochemically studied in the process of development of mononuclear phagocyte deficiency and experimental leprosy. it was concluded that the method proposed pre ...	1990	2222222
rapid and sensitive detection of mycobacterium leprae using a nested-primer gene amplification assay.	by using a set of four nested oligonucleotide primers, a two-step polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection and identification of mycobacterium leprae that does not require the use of radioactivity labeled hybridization probes was developed. the nested-primer procedure amplified a 347-base-pair product from m. leprae genomic dna. no amplification products were produced from dnas of 19 other mycobacterium species, 19 non-mycobacterium species, mouse cells, or human cells. minor amplificat ...	1990	2229372
growth of mycobacterium leprae under low oxygen tension.	despite numerous attempts, mycobacterium leprae has yet to be cultivated in vitro. this organism has been considered as microaerophilic. the effects of various known gas mixtures on the in vitro growth of m. leprae were investigated. a gas mixture containing 2.5% o2 and 10% co2 was found to be more favourable for the growth of this mycobacterium on artificial medium. growth was evaluated by three parameters namely cell counts, bacterial atp and dna. an optimal growth of m. leprae, as determined ...	1990	2233401
progress in the chemotherapy of leprosy: status, issues and prospects.		1990	2236572
[rheumatic manifestations of leprosy].		1990	2255370
molecular studies on the antigens of mycobacterium leprae.		1990	2255849
interstrain variations of resistance and delayed type hypersensitivity in mice after infection with various substrains of mycobacterium bovis (strains bcg) and after immunization with mycobacterium leprae.		1990	2255850
an antigenic complex that restores ability in leprosy patients to kill mycobacterium leprae--the probable molecular events identified by in vitro experiments.	the delipidified cell components of mycobacterium leprae (dcc) obtained as an insoluble material was presented as an antigen by the macrophages of lepromatous leprosy patients. this resulted in in vitro lymphocyte proliferation and production of lymphokines, like il-2 and ifn-gamma. this dcc induced culture supernatant was capable of activating patient macrophages through changes induced in the membrane, as monitored by same specific markers, before and after exposure to the supernatant. the act ...	1990	2255852
recognition of icrc and mycobacterium leprae antigens by sera from leprosy patients.		1990	2255853
purification of recombinant mycobacterium leprae 65-kilodalton antigen and murine antibody responses to intravenously administered recombinant protein.	recombinant mycobacterium leprae 65-kilodalton antigen has been purified by a combination of differential solubility, ion-exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and a method for the quantification of the antigen in large scale protein preparations developed. by injecting large amounts of the recombinant antigen intravenously into mice, a limited degree of specific suppression of antibody-response has been induced.	1990	2255855
pitfalls in the ultrastructural analysis of mycobacteria, including mycobacterium leprae.		1990	2255856
mycobacterium leprae antigens and their utility in immunodiagnostics of leprosy.		1990	2255865
a candidate anti-leprosy vaccine from icrc bacilli.		1990	2255866
primary dapsone-resistant hansen's disease in california. experience with over 100 mycobacterium leprae isolates.	we found that in the years 1978 through 1981 only one of 54 previously untreated patients with hansen's disease was found to harbor dapsone-resistant mycobacterium leprae. that single strain was only partially resistant, ie, it was resistant to 0.0001% dapsone in a mouse diet but not to higher concentrations. during the years 1983 through 1988, m leprae from 47 previously untreated patients presenting to clinics in san francisco, calif, and los angeles, calif, grew in mice. none of these strains ...	1990	2256685
commercially available anti-s-100 protein serum stains m. leprae in leprosy tissues by immunohistochemical procedures.		1990	2259837
transmission of mycobacterium leprae from lepromatous leprosy patients to the skin of mice through intermittent feeding.	batches of hungry aedes aegypti mosquitoes which partially sucked blood from the skin lesions of proved untreated lepromatous leprosy (ll) patients were allowed immediately to feed on a portion of the skin of a cleanly shaved swiss mouse. the portion of the skin was cut, homogenized on the same day and extracted with chloroform. out of 10 extracts, stained for acid fast bacilli (afb), mycobacterium leprae were demonstrated in eight, indicating transfer of bacilli mechanically to the biting spot ...	1990	2260204
sub-clinical infection with mycobacterium leprae in household contacts of leprosy.	870 household contacts of leprosy patients were examined for sub-clinical infection with m. leprae by smear (skin and nasal), lepromin and fla-abs tests. 0.6%, 3.3%, 71.5% and 14.4% of the contacts were found to be positive for skin smear, nasal smear, lepromin and fla-abs tests respectively. an analysis of the results revealed that 4% of the lepromin positive contacts and 3.6% of the lepromin negative contacts were positive to both fla-abs and skin or nasal smear.	1990	2262713
is leprosy bacillus a chemo-autotrophic nocardioform organism?	numerous attempts at in vitro cultivation of the leprosy bacillus have all proved to be unsuccessful. recently, we have repeatedly isolated chemo-autotrophic nocardioform (can) organisms in pure culture from multibacillary cases of leprosy. we find that these resemble the leprosy bacillus in many respects and suggest that the leprosy bacillus may be closer to the genus nocardia than to mycobacterium, and that it may be a chemo-autotroph, requiring only simple sources of carbon and nitrogen for i ...	1990	2262721
recent research into the physiology of mycobacterium leprae.		1990	2264525
serological monitoring of previously treated lepromatous patients during a course of multiple immunotherapy treatments with heat-killed mycobacterium leprae and bcg.	two-hundred and seventy lepromatous patients who had completed treatment received multiple treatments with heat-killed m. leprae and bcg and were monitored for changes in humoral responses to m. leprae-specific antigens. these patients were divided into four treatment groups: placebo (n = 69); bcg (n = 68); m. leprae only (n = 71); and bcg + m. leprae (n = 62). they were monitored for 15 months, receiving five inoculations for each treatment regimen. two elisa systems, one measuring antibodies t ...	1990	2265493
activation of the human complement system by phenolic glycolipid 1 of mycobacterium leprae.	the activation of the complement system by phenolic glycolipid 1 (pgl) from mycobacterium leprae was studied. it was found that pgl consumed haemolytic complement through both the classical and the alternative pathways. this was further studied at the level of c3. although the activation was independent of anti-pgl antibodies present in normal human serum, the addition of antibody augmented the activation of complement by pgl. the uptake of c3 through the classical pathway was enhanced predomina ...	1990	2266854
mycobacterial-induced cytotoxic t cells as well as nonspecific killer cells derived from healthy individuals and leprosy patients.	little information is available about the generation and specificity of the cytotoxic cells that eliminate human monocytes/macrophages infected with mycobacteria. to address this we have developed a cytotoxicity assay in which 51cr-labeled monocytes pulsed with bacillus calmette guerin (bcg) or mycobacterium leprae, were used as target cells in overnight cytotoxicity assays. as effector cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy occupational contacts or from leprosy patients stimulat ...	1990	2269329
subcellular localization of mycobacterium leprae-specific phenolic glycolipid (pgl-i) antigen in human leprosy lesions and in m. leprae isolated from armadillo liver.	phenolic glycolipid (pgl-i), an antigen specific to mycobacterium leprae, was localized subcellularly in m. leprae residing in human skin, in m. leprae isolated from armadillo liver ('isolated m. leprae') and outside m. leprae in human lepromatous skin. for a quantitative localization of pgl-i sites, specimens, including skin segments stored for 6 years in glutaraldehyde, were embedded in hydrophilic lowicryl (k4m) resin for ultrathin sectioning. ultracryosections and araldite sections of compar ...	1990	2269873
[research in developing countries: will leprosy vaccine be produced in nepal?].	clinical, bacteriological and immunological research into leprosy is pursued at the anandaban leprosy hospital on the outskirts of kathmandu in nepal with support from the world health organization and research laboratories in inter alia holland and australia. the bacteriological part consists of research into cultivation procedures on mice for diagnosis of mycobacterium leprae resistance to dapsone and rifampicin. serological studies have also yielded m. leprae-specific antibodies, a method whi ...	1990	2270200
the response of human b cells to mycobacterium leprae. identification of target antigens following polyclonal activation in vitro.	we have investigated the b cell response to mycobacterium leprae in leprosy patients and healthy controls. a comparison of western-blotted proteins separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and probed with pooled sera from ll and bt patients revealed distinct antigen recognition patterns for the two classifications of the disease. to characterize the circulating b cells capable of producing anti-m. leprae antibodies in vitro, peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures were activated polyclonall ...	1990	2279000
detection of mycobacterium leprae antigens in the sera of leprosy patients by sandwich immunoradiometric assay using monoclonal antibodies.	an immunological technique for demonstration of mycobacterium leprae antigen in sera was developed by using specific as well as cross-reactive monoclonal antibodies. the sandwich immunoradiometric assay which we developed is a simple, robust assay that is sensitive to the nanogram level. sera from 72 leprosy patients were screened for the presence of antigen by this assay. a total of 69% of untreated tuberculoid leprosy patients showed 35-kda antigen positivity, and 45% of these patients showed ...	1990	2280011
a longitudinal study of the incidence of leprosy in a hyperendemic area in zaire, with special reference to pgl-antibody results. the yalisombo study group.	between 1984 and 1988, yearly surveys for leprosy were done among the 1500 people living in a previous leprosy segregation village in zaire. in 1984 lepromin tests and phenolic glycolipid (pgl) antibody tests were done in a significant part of the population. the prevalence of the disease at that time was 16.1%, the proportion of multibacillary cases was 11.3% overall and 22% among active cases. prior to 1984, 23% of paucibacillary cases and 56% of multibacillary cases had presented themselves s ...	1990	2280114
prospective immunological follow-up in household contacts of mexican leprosy patients.	a 6-year prospective study of 79 household contacts of leprosy cases was made in order to correlate the development of the disease with their specific t-cell immunity, measured by the mitsuda test, and levels of anti-mycobacterium leprae antibodies determined in three consecutive observations with the fla-abs test. overall in the contacts, 71.7% were mitsuda positive and 93.6% showed seropositivity, without regard to their age, sex, or leprosy type of their index case. households were divided in ...	1990	2280115
effect of presensitization with bcg and mycobacterium leprae on granuloma formation to m. leprae.	granulomas which develop in draining lymph nodes, following the intradermal injection of cobalt-irradiated mycobacterium leprae into the ear of the guinea pig 2 and 5 weeks earlier, were studied in animals which had been presensitized with bcg vaccine or m. leprae and compared with granulomas that developed in previously unsensitized guinea pigs. presensitization with mycobacteria accelerated the development of the granulomas. granulomas in previously unsensitized guinea pigs were found ultrastr ...	1990	2280118
the chemotherapy of leprosy. part 1.		1990	2280120
new findings on the mode of entry of mycobacterium leprae in nude mice.		1990	2280126
relationships between pgl-1 antigen in serum, tissue and viability of mycobacterium leprae as determined by mouse footpad assay in multibacillary patients during short-term clinical trial.	in connection with a 56-day controlled clinical trial for comparing the therapeutic effects between pefloxacin and ofloxacin in 21 lepromatous patients, we have studied the relationships between pgl-1 antigen level in serum and in skin and serum pgl-1 antibody titre on the one hand, and the viability of mycobacterium leprae, as measured by serial mouse footpad inoculations, and other bactericidal parameters on the other. before and during treatment, significant correlation was found between seru ...	1990	2280654
anti-phenolic glycolipid 1 igm antibodies in leprosy patients and in their household contacts.	though they have no apparent protective action, the specific antibodies are important markers of the infection with mycobacterium leprae. for their detection we employed an elisa method using as substrate a synthetic immunodominant disaccharide of phenolic glycolipid 1 antigen of m. leprae, conjugated with bovine serum albumin (d-bsa). increased levels of anti-d-bsa antibodies of the igm class were detected in 61.5% of the 13 leprosy patients and in 13.3% of their 53 household contacts, whereas ...	1990	2280655
evaluation of a novel 2,3-diacyl-trehalose-2'-sulphate (sl-iv) antigen for case finding and diagnosis of leprosy and tuberculosis.	serum igg and igm antibodies against a 2,3-diacyl-trehalose-2'-sulphate (sl-iv) antigen using elisa were determined in controls (n = 288) and in leprosy (n = 210) and tuberculosis (n = 99) patients. in all assays, the amount of antigen per well was 100.0 ng and sera were diluted 1/250. in the case of leprosy, anti-sl-iv igg and igm antibody titres increased from the tuberculoid towards the lepromatous pole of the spectrum. in the tested population, the sensitivity of the assay was 93.2% in multi ...	1990	2284503
modulation of human lepromatous monocyte-macrophage functions in vitro by tuftsin.	human peripheral blood monocytes/macrophages derived from normal donors, patients of tuberculoid leprosy (bt/tt) and lepromatous leprosy (bl/ll) were assayed for stimulated phagocytic responses to the potent macrophage stimulator "tuftsin" (nh2-thr-lys-pro-arg-oh) after varying periods (6 h to 14 days) of culture in vitro. the assays consisted of visual scoring of ingested mycobacterium leprae and radiometric measurement of ingested 14c-acetate labelled staphylococcus aureus and mycobacterium tu ...	1990	2292463
effect of tuftsin stimulation on the microbicidal activity exerted by blood monocyte-macrophages of leprosy patients.	the ability of blood monocyte/macrophages from normal donors, tuberculoid leprosy (bt/tt) and lepromatous leprosy (bl/ll) patients to exert enhanced microbicidal activity was assayed after stimulating with 0.8 microm tuftsin, as a function of the duration of cultures in vitro. normal and bt/tt macrophage cultures showed a statistically significant increase in microbicidal activity against staphylococcus aureus at all ages of culture (6 h to 14 days), though the overall magnitude of the enhanceme ...	1990	2292464
cross-reactive idiotypes in sera from patients with leprosy, lupus and lyme disease and from healthy individuals.	monoclonal igm autoantibodies have previously been generated from a patient with lepromatous leprosy. polyclonal anti-idiotypes raised against two of these monoclonal antibodies (8e7 and th9) were used in an immunoassay to detect the presence of idiotype in human serum. the anti-idiotypes recognize different but overlapping sets of idiotypic determinants, some of which are present on antibodies which bind to mycobacterium leprae. sera were tested from 16 individuals with leprosy, 45 with systemi ...	1990	2302837
leukopenia secondary to mycobacterium leprae.	hansen's disease (hd) is one of the major infectious diseases in the world with an estimated total of 12 million cases. physicians in north america, however, rarely see hd or its manifestations. hematological manifestations of hd have been reported but are not well appreciated. we report a patient with leukopenia while under treatment for active hd who demonstrated mycobacterial involvement of the bone marrow.	1990	2307895
[preliminary study on leprosy subclinical infection and its sero-epidemiology].	the detection of subclinical infection with m. leprae among 360 household contacts of leprosy and 95 healthy controls was conducted with pgi-elisa in leprosy-endemic areas. the relationship of age at infection, and onset with epidemic trends was explored basing on the distribution features of subclinical infection with m. leprae in household contacts of leprosy. in addition, the multiple linear regression was used to analyse the factors affected the level of antibody in leprosy.	1990	2322940
serum tumor necrosis factor levels and disease dissemination in leprosy and leishmaniasis.	it has been suggested that tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnf alpha) may serve as an important antigen-independent host defense mechanism against parasitic organisms. sera from 66 patients with leishmaniasis and 68 patients with leprosy, all from ethiopia, were tested for tnf alpha using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. sera from patients with the multi-parasitic/bacillary type of disease (visceral or diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis and lepromatous leprosy), known to be associated with absent or low ...	1990	2324549
prostaglandin f2 alpha in leprosy--a preliminary study.	prostaglandin f2 alpha was estimated in the sera of fifty patients in the leprosy spectrum to find out the status of prostaglandins in response to mycobacterium leprae. contrary to expectation, pgf2 alpha could be detected in only twenty-eight percent of leprosy patients. this preliminary finding is discussed in detail in the paper.	1990	2358704
serodiagnosis of leprosy in patients' contacts by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.	serum samples from 3336 contacts of leprosy patients were tested for antiphenolic glycolipid i antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the albumin coupled synthetic disaccharide antigen. the overall positivity rate was 9.3%. no significant differences were seen between a group of household contacts of lepromatous patients and those of the other types of the disease. the proportion of elisa positives was slightly higher in the relatives as compared to workplace contacts and neighbour ...	1990	2377022