Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| high incidence of igg antibodies to phenolic glycolipid in non-leprosy patients in india. | purified phenolic glycolipid (pgl-1) from mycobacterium leprae was used to detect igg antibodies against pgl-1 in leprosy patients in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). a total of 698 sera were screened; they came from patients suffering from leprosy, autoimmune disease, myeloma, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases (stds). cases with miscellaneous diseases and persons undergoing aids screening were also included. sera from lepromatous and tuberculoid leprosy patients gave p ... | 1998 | 9609981 |
| characterization of a haemolysin from mycobacterium tuberculosis with homology to a virulence factor of serpulina hyodysenteriae. | scrutiny of sequence data from the mycobacterium leprae genome sequencing project identified the presence of a gene encoding a 268-amino-acid polypeptide which is highly similar to a pore-forming haemolysin/cytotoxin virulence determinant, tlya, from the swine pathogen serpulina hyodysenteriae. using degenerate oligonucleotide primers based on the tlya sequences, the mycobacterium tuberculosis homologue was amplified and this product was used to obtain the clone and sequence a 2.5 kb fragment co ... | 1998 | 9611795 |
| leprosy reactions--complications of steroid therapy. | the adverse effects of corticosteroid therapy while treating 830 patients suffering from leprosy reaction (type 1 = 581; type 2 = 249) are presented. some of the adverse effects were cosmetically distressing, while others were disabling. patients suffering from type 2 reaction--because of the tendency of the reaction to recur over a long time--needed steroids for a longer duration; hence, adverse effects were more frequent. measures to counter some of the adverse effects are suggested and the ne ... | 1998 | 9614834 |
| dna amplification for detection of leprosy and assessment of efficacy of leprosy chemotherapy. | polymerase chain reaction (pcr) for the detection of mycobacterium leprae was applied to fresh skin biopsies and slit-skin smears from 122 untreated leprosy patients. the pcr positivity rates in biopsies were 95.6% in multibacillary (mb) cases and 44.2% in paucibacillary (pb) cases. following 1 month of treatment, mb cases declined by 54.3% and pb cases by 61.8% of initial values. six-month values also declined from initial positivity rates to 50.3% and 53.8% of initial values in mb and pb, resp ... | 1998 | 9614835 |
| fractionation, characterization and diagnostic potential of circulating leprosy antigens isolated from sera of lepromatous leprosy patients. | circulating antigen was isolated from lepromatous sera by ammonium sulfate precipitation. the protein fraction between 36% and 75% ammonium sulfate was reactive with leprosy sera. further fractionation of ultrogel aca 34 gel filtration column gave four protein fractions, cla1, cla2, cla3 and cla4. cla1 and cla2 showed antigenic activity. on sds-page analysis and elution of the protein fractions, cla1-7, cla2-1 and cla2-7 were found to be reactive with leprosy sera. on evaluating the diagnostic u ... | 1998 | 9614836 |
| determinant capture by mhc class ii dr3 during processing of mycobacteria leprae 65kd heat shock protein by human b cells. | using t cell immunoblotting we have characterised the immunogenic fragments derived from the mycobacteria leprae 65kd heat shock protein that become associated with mhc class ii dr3 during processing by a human b cell line. after 5 h incubation with antigen, a peptide of approximately 12kd (approximately 110 amino acids) was the only major fragment found associated with the class ii mhc. the association of this oligopeptide was abolished if an excess of a synthetic peptide representing the minim ... | 1998 | 9619764 |
| use of pcr for diagnosis of post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis. | microscopy and pcr were compared for use in the diagnosis of post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (pkdl) in 63 patients. aspirates of lymph nodes (samples from 52 patients), skin (23 samples), and bone marrow (18 samples) were used. for 11 patients lymph node aspiration could be repeated 6 months after they recovered from pkdl. during active pkdl, pcr was positive for 42 of 52 (80.8%) lymph node aspirates and 19 of 23 (82.7%) skin aspirates, whereas microscopy was positive for only 9 of 52 (17.3% ... | 1998 | 9620389 |
| conformational stability and antibody response to the 18kda heat-shock protein formulated into different vehicles. | protein stability is one of the most important obstacles for successful formulation in the development of new-generation vaccines. here, the 18kda heat-shock protein (18kda-hsp) was chemically modified though conjugation with bovine serum albumin or by esterification with n-hydroxysuccinimide ester of palmitic acid. the biologically active conformation of the protein was preserved after chemical modification. the immune responses to the recombinant 18kda-hsp from mycobacterium leprae were studie ... | 1998 | 9621407 |
| igg antibody subclasses, tumor necrosis factor and ifn-gamma levels in patients with type ii lepra reaction on thalidomide treatment. | a group of 9 mexican lepromatous leprosy patients was studied at the beginning of a type ii reaction (erythema nodosum leprosum, enl) and after 1 or 2 months of thalidomide treatment. enl patients at the onset of the reaction had slightly higher amounts of anti-mycobacterium leprae igg1 and igg2 antibodies, compared to similar lepromatous patients that did not develop enl. neither these antibody levels nor igm and the other igg subclasses were importantly modified after thalidomide treatment. se ... | 1998 | 9623511 |
| is there a microbiological rationale for single-dose treatment of leprosy? | 1998 | 9628091 | |
| protective immunization of monkeys with bcg or bcg plus heat-killed mycobacterium leprae: clinical results. | rhesus and sooty mangabey monkeys (rm and smm) were vaccinated and boosted with bcg or bcg + low dose (ld) or high dose (hd) heat-killed mycobacterium leprae (hkml). one group was not vaccinated. except for a group of controls, all monkeys were challenged with live m. leprae. all animals were studied longitudinally to determine antileprosy protective efficacy. bcg reduced the numbers of rm with histopathologically-diagnosed leprosy by 70% and slowed and ameliorated the appearance of symptoms. bc ... | 1998 | 9628092 |
| impaired responses to mycobacterium leprae antigens in rhesus monkeys experimentally inoculated with simian immunodeficiency virus and m. leprae. | seven of eight rhesus monkeys (rm) coinfected with simian immunodeficiency virus (siv) and mycobacterium leprae harboured acid-fast bacilli (afb) at sites of dermal inoculation and/or at disseminated sites at times of humane sacrifice (up to 270 days post-m. leprae inoculation) due to siv-induced debilitation or, in one long term survivor's case, to date over 3 years post-m. leprae inoculation. detectable afb were cleared in biopsies of inoculation sites of rm inoculated with m. leprae alone aft ... | 1998 | 9628093 |
| conjugal transfer of chromosomal dna in mycobacterium smegmatis. | the genus mycobacterium includes the major human pathogens mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae. the development of rational drug treatments for the diseases caused by these and other mycobacteria requires the establishment of basic molecular techniques to determine the genetic basis of pathogenesis and drug resistance. to date, the ability to manipulate and move dna between mycobacterial strains has relied on the processes of transformation and transduction. here, we describe a n ... | 1998 | 9632259 |
| production of host-protective (ifn-gamma), host-impairing (il-10, il-13) and inflammatory (tnf-alpha) cytokines by pbmc from leprosy patients stimulated with mycobacterial antigens. | the production of ifngamma, il-10, il-13 and tnfalpha was determined using pbmc from 7 tuberculoid (tt) and 7 lepromatous leprosy (ll) patients, after stimulation with several mycobacterial antigens, in an attempt to characterize the cytokine responses to these antigens. the results showed that tt patients displayed higher ifngamma levels than ll patients with the mycobacterial antigens tested, but no differences in il-10 production were observed between the two groups. mlsc antigen was associat ... | 1998 | 9649657 |
| [an autopsy case of hansen's disease (llp) with numerous m. leprae]. | 1998 | 9656709 | |
| specific serological diagnosis of leprosy with a recombinant mycobacterium leprae protein purified from a rapidly growing mycobacterial host. | in this report we demonstrate the utility of an monoclonal antibody inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on the mycobacterium leprae 35-kda protein, purified from the rapidly growing host mycobacterium smegmatis, for the serodiagnosis of multibacillary leprosy. the assay proved highly specific (97.5%) and sensitive (90%) and compared favorably with two other established methods routinely utilized for leprosy serodiagnosis. | 1998 | 9666025 |
| a bacterial cytokine. | viable cells of micrococcus luteus secrete a factor, which promotes the resuscitation and growth of dormant, nongrowing cells of the same organism. the resuscitation-promoting factor (rpf) is a protein, which has been purified to homogeneity. in picomolar concentrations, it increases the viable cell count of dormant m. luteus cultures at least 100-fold and can also stimulate the growth of viable cells. rpf also stimulates the growth of several other high g+c gram-positive organisms, including my ... | 1998 | 9671779 |
| cross-reactivity of anti-10kd heat shock protein antibodies in leprosy and tuberculosis patients. | the response to recombinant 10-kd heat shock protein (hsp) of mycobacterium leprae (rml10) was evaluated by indirect elisa in sera from leprosy patients, household contacts, tuberculosis patients and healthy controls in a leprosy-endemic area in the north east of argentina. some technical parameters were analyzed: within-assay and between-assay variability, dose-response curves and detectability indexes (specificity and sensitivity) of elisa applied to measure anti-10 kda antibodies. high levels ... | 1997 | 9674227 |
| leprosy: a post-elimination research agenda. | 1998 | 9675797 | |
| synthesis and nmr analysis of 13c-labeled oligosaccharides corresponding to the major glycolipid from mycobacterium leprae. | an improved synthesis of propyl 4-o-(3,6-di-o-methyl- beta-d-glucopyranosyl)-2,3-di-o-methyl-alpha-l-rhamnopyranoside, a disaccharide corresponding to the phenolic glycolipid of mycobacterium leprae using a trichloroacetimidate as a glycosyl donor is described. the synthetic strategy is also applied to the preparation of three corresponding disaccharide analogues containing 13c-labeled methyl groups. the preparation of the trisaccharide, propyl 2-o-[4-o-(3,6-di-o-methyl-beta-d-glucopyranosyl)-2, ... | 1998 | 9679274 |
| expression and cytokine secretion in the states of immune reactivation in leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. the human response to this pathogen exhibits intriguing aspects which are up to now not well understood. the present study discusses the probable mechanisms involved in t cell-specific unresponsiveness observed in lepromatous patients. analysis of the cytokine profile either in blood leukocytes or in skin specimens taken from leprosy lesions indicates that some parameters of th1 immune response are present in lepromatous p ... | 1998 | 9686181 |
| evaluation of three mycobacterium leprae monoclonal antibodies in mucus and lymph samples from ziehl-neelsen stain negative leprosy patients and their household contacts in an indian community. | mucus and lymph smears collected from leprosy patients (9) and their household contacts (44) in the caño mochuelo indian reservation, casanare, colombia, were examined with monoclonal antibodies (moab) against mycobacterium leprae. the individuals studied were: 5 borderline leprosy (bb) patients, 4 with a lepromatous leprosy (ll), all of whom were undergoing epidemiological surveillance after treatment and 44 household contacts: 21 of the ll and 23 contacts of the bb patients. the moab were reac ... | 1998 | 9711338 |
| alterations in early biochemical events following t cell activation in leprosy patients. | the early events of activation and cytokine profiles (il-2, 4, and 6) were studied in lymphocytes of paucibacillary (tt/bt) and multibacillary (bl/ll) leprosy patients after stimulation with pma/a23187 and mycobacterium leprae antigen (pgl-1). lymphocytes from bt/tt patients showed proliferation in response to both pma/a23187 and pgl-1 compared to bl/ll. the levels of early activation signaling molecules such as ip3, calcium, and protein kinase c (pkc) in the particulate fraction were found to b ... | 1998 | 9714691 |
| leprosy transmission and mucosal immunity: towards eradication? | the declining prevalence of leprosy has not been matched by a declining incidence. widespread adoption of multiple drug therapy (mdt) in closely monitored control programmes has not prevented transmission of mycobacterium leprae. despite the rarity of lepromatous patients, most of those living in endemic areas have immunological evidence of exposure to m. leprae. this paradox could be explained if, for many such individuals, infection was transient, did not result in disease development, but did ... | 1998 | 9715595 |
| choosing the decolourizer and its strength to stain mycobacterium leprae. does it actually matter? | leprosy bacilli are more easily decolourized during staining than tuberculosis bacilli, so a weaker concentration of decolourizer is usually recommended. in indonesia, the same 'strong' decolourizer is used for identifying both organisms. in a study to compare the results using different concentrations of different decolourizers, no difference could be found in the bacterial index (bi). it is suggested that the same staining technique can be used for tuberculosis and leprosy. | 1998 | 9715597 |
| the use of whole blood in a dipstick assay for detection of antibodies to mycobacterium leprae: a field evaluation. | we describe a further simplification of a dipstick assay for the detection of antibodies to phenolic glycolipid i of mycobacterium leprae by using whole blood and evaluated the assay performance in the leprosy endemic area of amazonas in brazil. the agreement with the 'gold' standard elisa was 94.9% (kappa value = 0.87). this simple assay may be useful to identify those at risk of developing leprosy, for example among contacts of leprosy patients at lower levels in the health services. | 1998 | 9718209 |
| macrophage nramp1 and its role in resistance to microbial infections. | the identification and characterization of genetic factors influencing natural susceptibility to infectious diseases in humans and in model organisms, such as the laboratory mouse, can provide new insight into the basic mechanisms of host defense against infections. in the mouse, resistance or susceptibility to infection with intracellular pathogens such as salmonella, mycobacterium and leishmnania is controlled by the natural resistance associated macrophage protein (nramp1) gene on chromosome ... | 1998 | 9719491 |
| is pgl-1 also present in leishmania donovani promastigotes? | a soluble antigen complex (sac) derived from the ruptured promastigotes of leishmania donovani parasites (ld-sac) was used for complement fixation test (cft) in leprosy cases of tuberculoid and borderline tuberculoid leprosy, post-kala azar dermal leishmaniasis (tt, bt, pkdl) and control sera gave negative cft. smear-positive cases of borderline (bb, bl) and lepromatous (ll) leprosy and drug-resisting cases of pulmonary tuberculosis gave positive cft; smear-negative cases of ll leprosy sera also ... | 1998 | 9724851 |
| single dose multidrug therapy for single lesion paucibacillry leprosy. | 1998 | 9724861 | |
| b7-1, but not cd28, is crucial for the maintenance of the cd4+ t cell responses in human leprosy. | we used human leprosy as a model to compare patterns of costimulatory molecule expression in respect to the clinical/immunologic spectrum of disease. we found that b7-1, b7-2, and cd28 transcripts dominated in tuberculoid leprosy patients, who have potent t cell responses to mycobacterium leprae. in contrast, ctla-4 was more strongly expressed in lesions from lepromatous patients, who manifest specific t cell anergy to the leprosy bacterium. t cell clones from tuberculoid lesions were cd4+cd28+ ... | 1998 | 9725237 |
| epidemiological significance of first skin lesion in leprosy. | the epidemiological significance of monolesions in leprosy and the possible inferences on the mode of entry by mycobacterium leprae into the body are presented based on data from the clinical records of the leprosy control programme of gudiyatham taluk in india; 660 children with monolesions (335 males, 305 females) younger than 15 years of age and detected during the period 1990-1995 were included in the study. detailed investigations on the location of monolesions were carried out and compared ... | 1998 | 9728445 |
| spontaneous leprosy in a wild-caught cynomolgus macaque. | naturally occurring mycobacterium leprae has been previously documented in only two species of nonhuman primates from west africa--the chimpanzee and the sooty mangabey. we report here the first known case of spontaneous leprosy in an asian macaque. a wild-caught cynomolgus macaque imported from the philippines developed a reaction to a tuberculin skin test after 3 years at the california regional primate research center (crprc), university of california-davis, davis, california, u.s.a. biopsies ... | 1998 | 9728446 |
| why relapse occurs in pb leprosy patients after adequate mdt despite they are mitsuda reactive: lessons form convit's experiment on bacteria-clearing capacity of lepromin-induced granuloma. | it is amazing how after years of scientific research and therapeutic progress many simple and basic questions about protective immunity against mycobacterium leprae remain unanswered. although the world health organization (who) has recommended short-term multidrug therapy (who/mdt) for the treatment of paucibacillary (pb) leprosy patients, from time to time several workers from different parts of the globe have reported inadequate clinical responses in a few tuberculoid and indeterminate lepros ... | 1998 | 9728450 |
| two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis of humoral responses to culture filtrate of mycobacterium bovis bcg in patients with leprosy and tuberculosis. | sera from 3 lepromatous (ll), 3 borderline lepromatous (bl), 3 mid-borderline (bb), 3 borderline tuberculoid (bt), 2 tuberculoid (tt) and 4 tuberculosis (tb) patients and 3 healthy individuals were examined for their reactivities against the proteins in the culture filtrate of bcg separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-de). the sera were obtained from patients who were untreated. sera from ll and bl patients reacted strongly with the antigen 85 (ag85) complex and mpb51. sera from ll and ... | 1998 | 9728453 |
| correlation of oral surface temperatures and the lesions of leprosy. | a short review of the literature on the optimum temperature for the growth of mycobacterium leprae is followed by a report of an investigation into the correlation of oral surface temperatures with oral leprous lesions. it is concluded that the oral lesions of leprosy occur more frequently in areas of the mouth with a lower surface temperature. | 1998 | 9728454 |
| serologic assays using the 18-kda antigen of mycobacterium leprae expressed in the yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae. | 1998 | 9728462 | |
| collagen profile in sciatic nerves of m. leprae-inoculated mice correlates with in vitro collagen production by schwann cells. | 1998 | 9728463 | |
| antibody response to klebsiella pneumoniae 60 kda protein in familial and sporadic ankylosing spondylitis: role of hla-b27 and characterization as a groel-like protein. | to study the antibody response of hla-b27+ patients with ankylosing spondylitis (as) and their first degree relatives to the 60 kda protein of klebsiella pneumoniae and to characterize this protein. | 1998 | 9733457 |
| oxidative stress response and characterization of the oxyr-ahpc and fura-katg loci in mycobacterium marinum. | oxidative stress response in pathogenic mycobacteria is believed to be of significance for host-pathogen interactions at various stages of infection. it also plays a role in determining the intrinsic susceptibility to isoniazid in mycobacterial species. in this work, we characterized the oxyr-ahpc and fura-katg loci in the nontuberculous pathogen mycobacterium marinum. in contrast to mycobacterium smegmatis and like mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae, m. marinum was shown to pos ... | 1998 | 9733688 |
| neuritic hansen's disease: an unusual presentation and a diagnostic challenge on fine-needle aspirate. | fine-needle aspiration cytology is now routinely used in the diagnosis of cervical lumps. we report on a case of leprous neuritis which presented as a cervical swelling. a diagnosis of leprosy was suggested on the basis of globi within histiocytes. these histiocytes differed from those classically described in leprosy. retrospective review demonstrated the presence of occasional nerve fragments, and some of these closely resembled granulomas. the possible close resemblance of this lesion to tube ... | 1998 | 9740995 |
| changes in cellular response to mycobacterial antigens and cytokine production patterns in leprosy patients during multiple drug therapy. | changes in mycobacterium leprae-induced lymphoproliferative responses and mediator release by leprosy patients' lymphocytes were followed during multiple drug therapy (mdt). at the time of diagnosis, multibacillary (mb) patients who did not develop reactions responded to both sonicated m. leprae and synthetic disaccharide coupled to bovine serum albumin (nd-bsa) antigens, but those who would later develop reactions did not respond, even in the presence of added cytokines. the paucibacillary (pb) ... | 1998 | 9741341 |
| the possible role of interleukin (il)-12 and interferon-gamma-inducing factor/il-18 in protection against experimental mycobacterium leprae infection in mice. | cell-mediated immunity participates in host defense against mycobacterial infection. both interleukin 12 (il-12) and interferon-gamma-inducing factor (igif/il-18), produced mainly by macrophages, play a critical role in expression of cell-mediated immunity. to investigate the role of il-12 and igif/il-18 in vivo, we examined cytokine profile, bacterial growth, and the potential benefit of cytokine therapy in susceptible and resistant mice infected with mycobacterium leprae. the early expression ... | 1998 | 9743608 |
| t-cell recognition of mycobacterial groes peptides in thai leprosy patients and contacts. | we report here the mapping of t-cell-stimulatory determinants of the groes 10-kda heat shock protein homologues from mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis, which are known as major immunogens in mycobacterial infections. peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc) from treated tuberculoid leprosy or lepromatous leprosy patients and from healthy household or hospital staff contacts of the patients were cultured with 20 16-mer peptides covering the entire sequences of both m. leprae an ... | 1998 | 9746595 |
| pathogenesis of chronic bacterial infections. | 1998 | 9746939 | |
| phosphorylation of mycobacterium leprae heat-shock 70 protein at threonine 175 alters its substrate binding characteristics. | we have examined the functional properties including autophosphorylation of the mycobacterium leprae hsp70 homologue. recombinant m. leprae hsp70 had ph optima for its adenosine triphosphatase and autophosphorylating activities which were near ph 8 and 6, respectively. both these activities were inhibited by reduced and alkylated bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, but not other tested substrates. autophosphorylation was augmented by up to 25 mm ca2+. using site-directed mutagenesis to construc ... | 1998 | 9748655 |
| identification of a dna fragment encoding a putative membrane transporter protein expressed in sporothrix schenckii. | we have isolated two dna fragments from sporothrix schenckii. these fragments were nonspecifically amplified from the whole-cell dna using polymerase chain reaction (pcr) primers originally designed in the gene encoding heat shock protein 70 of mycobacterium leprae. reverse transcription pcr demonstrated that the smaller (sp-2) fragment was expressed, and a database search indicated that the deduced amino acids sequence from the sp-2 fragment contained a region homologous to the conserved sequen ... | 1998 | 9750340 |
| delayed-type hypersensitivity to mycobacterium leprae soluble antigens as a test for infection with the leprosy bacillus. | mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) soluble antigen (mlsa) reagents have been developed with the aim of finding a reagent, comparable to tuberculin, which could identify individuals infected with the leprosy bacillus. they have yet to be evaluated fully in human populations. | 1998 | 9758130 |
| distribution of surface-exposed antigenic glycolipids in recent clinical isolates of mycobacterium tuberculosis. | the distribution of surface-exposed antigenic glycolipids in seven recent clinical isolates of mycobacterium tuberculosis was established. thin-layer and liquid chromatographies revealed a uniformity in the glycolipid pattern. chemical analysis of the individual glycolipids of a selected strain enabled the identification of glycolipids of serological interest in all the other clinical isolates. phenolic glycolipid-tb1 (pgl-tb1) was lacking in all strains, but appreciable amounts of a partially d ... | 1997 | 9765819 |
| crystal structure of an octameric ruva-holliday junction complex. | holliday junctions occur as intermediates in homologous recombination and dna repair. in bacteria, resolution of holliday junctions is accomplished by the ruvabc system, consisting of a junction-specific helicase complex ruvab, which promotes branch migration, and a junction-specific endonuclease ruvc, which nicks two strands. the crystal structure of a complex between the ruva protein of m. leprae and a synthetic four-way junction has now been determined. rather than binding on the open surface ... | 1998 | 9774974 |
| [characterization of phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) like antigen in renal cell carcinoma]. | we investigated whether phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) produced by mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae), can be used as a marker of renal tumors. | 1998 | 9780652 |
| lepromatous uveitis diagnosed by iris biopsy. | ocular leprosy is rarely seen in developed countries. we report the long-term follow-up of a patient with bilateral uveitis, glaucoma, and keratitis. skin, iris and aqueous humor biopsies disclosed abundant wade-fite-positive organisms consistent with mycobacterium leprae. leprosy must be considered in the differential diagnosis of keratitis and uveitis. | 1998 | 9782435 |
| characterization of a 34-kilodalton protein of mycobacterium leprae that is isologous to the immunodominant 34-kilodalton antigen of mycobacterium paratuberculosis. | during dna sequence analysis of cosmid l373 from the mycobacterium leprae genome, an open reading frame of 1.4 kb encoding a protein with some homology to the immunodominant 34-kda protein of mycobacterium paratuberculosis, but lacking significant serological activity, was detected. the dna sequence predicted a signal peptide with a modified lipoprotein consensus sequence, but the protein proved to be devoid of lipid attachment. | 1998 | 9784577 |
| factors influencing the in vitro growth of mycobacterium leprae: effect of inoculum. | factors responsible for the in vitro growth of mycobacterium leprae in dhople-hanks (dh) medium, and also to improve the technique devised earlier, and the source of the m. leprae used as inoculum, were investigated. m. leprae were obtained from armadillos and nude mice, both inoculated earlier with human- or armadillo-derived m. leprae. the growth of m. leprae in dh medium was monitored using two biochemical indicators. normal growth was obtained when inocula were from livers and spleens of m. ... | 1998 | 9785489 |
| immunoregulation of cytokines in infectious diseases (leprosy), future strategies. | leprosy is a dynamic disease model in which distinct mycobacterium leprae-responsive t cell subsets play an important role in host defense and control clinical and immunological spectrum. th1 cells are associated with tuberculoid leprosy patients that have strong m. leprae-specific cmi-dth responses. th2 cells are expressed in lepromatous leprosy patients that are characterized by strong humoral immune responses and lack of t cell responses. recently cytokines are thought to play immunoregulator ... | 1998 | 9785841 |
| [morphological features to be considered as the growth of mycobacterium leprae thai-53 strain on a silicon coated slide in a cell-free liquid medium]. | morphological findings of the cells of mycobacterium leprae thai-53 strain smeared on a silicon-coated slide cultured in kirchner liquid medium ph 7.0, enriched with adenosine, egg yolk, folinic acid, vitamin k3, lecithin, and n-acetylglucosamine at 30 degrees c were demonstrated. on the basis of the results with exquisite morphological growth patterns and the increase in the amount of tempelate dna prepared from the cultured cells, it is evident that the cells of m.leprae are capable of multipl ... | 1998 | 9785844 |
| gene organization in the trxa/b-oric region of the streptomyces coelicolor chromosome and comparison with other eubacteria. | the gene organization was determined in the trxa/b-rnpa region of the streptomyces coelocolor chromosome, near to the origin of replication, oric. previously, we showed that the trxa and trxb genes, coding for thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase, respectively, occur in s. coelicolor as a gene cluster and are contained on a cosmid h24 that carries oric and several genes involved in dna replication. here we show that the trxa/b locus is positioned approx. 9.4kb from oric, present the nucleotide ... | 1998 | 9795152 |
| conjunctival biopsy in patients with leprosy. | the authors examined the eyes of 120 leprosy patients comprising of 30 cases each of tuberculoid, indeterminate, borderline and lepromatous leprosy. the investigation included biopsy of the bulbar conjunctiva on the upper temporal quadrant of the right eye. the study patients included both who were untreated, those that were being treated and those who were in observation after the end of treatment. the aim of the study was to identify the presence of m. leprae in the conjunctiva. four such case ... | 1998 | 9801902 |
| management of ocular problems in leprosy. | 1998 | 9801903 | |
| experimental leprosy in rhesus monkeys: transmission, susceptibility, clinical and immunological findings. | a total of 46 rhesus monkeys (rm) was inoculated with mycobacterium leprae (ml) and followed clinically and immunologically for extended periods. twenty-one (45.7%) of the rm developed leprosy spanning the known leprosy spectrum, with six of 21 (28.6%) having disease in the borderline lepromatous to lepromatous area of the spectrum. rm with paucibacillary forms of leprosy produced predominantly igg anti-phenolic glycolipid (pgl-i) antibodies and positive lepromin skin test and/or in vitro blasto ... | 1998 | 9805879 |
| in vitro studies on extracellular matrix production by m.leprae infected murine neurofibroblasts. | fibroblasts and a host of macrophage secretory products have been implicated in a number of diseases where excess extracellular matrix (ecm) deposition is the main pathological feature. fibrosis characterized by excessive deposition of collagen also contributes to the irreversible nerve damage observed in leprosy. since m. leprae are seen within neurofibroblasts (nf) in the advanced stages of the disease and macrophages form a common infiltrating cellular constituent of leprous nerves at all sta ... | 1998 | 9805880 |
| use of a whole blood assay to monitor the immune response to mycobacterial antigens in leprosy patients: a predictor for type 1 reaction onset? | longitudinal studies are more appropriate than cross-sectional studies for investigating changes in the immune response to mycobacterium leprae during leprosy, such as occur in type 1 (reversal) reactions. a test for predicting the onset of reactions in leprosy would greatly reduce disability associated with leprosy. whole blood assays are appropriate for longitudinal studies of the in vitro t-cell response, as they are robust and reproducible, and require only a small volume of blood. whole blo ... | 1998 | 9805883 |
| an inducible expression system permitting the efficient purification of a recombinant antigen from mycobacterium smegmatis. | a novel expression vector utilising the highly inducible acetamidase promoter of mycobacterium smegmatis was constructed. high-level induction of a model antigen, the mycobacterium leprae 35 kda protein, was demonstrated in recombinant m. smegmatis grown in the presence of the acetamidase inducer acetamide. the recombinant protein could be simply and efficiently purified from the bacterial sonicate by virtue of a c-terminal 6-histidine tag, demonstrating that this purification strategy can be us ... | 1998 | 9809415 |
| a synthetic holliday junction is sandwiched between two tetrameric mycobacterium leprae ruva structures in solution: new insights from neutron scattering contrast variation and modelling. | the interaction between homologous dna molecules in recombination and dna repair leads to the formation of crossover intermediates known as holliday junctions. their enzymatic processing by the ruvabc system in bacteria involves the formation of a complex between ruva and the holliday junction. to study the solution structure of this complex, contrast variation by neutron scattering was applied to mycobacterium leprae ruva (mleruva), a synthetic analogue of a holliday junction with 16 base-pairs ... | 1998 | 9813125 |
| thioredoxin reductase-thioredoxin fusion enzyme from mycobacterium leprae: comparison with the separately expressed thioredoxin reductase. | thioredoxin reductase (trxr) catalyzes the reduction of thioredoxin (trx) by nadph. a unique gene organization of trxr and trx has been found in mycobacterium leprae, where trxr and trx are encoded by a single gene and, therefore, are expressed as a fusion protein (mltrxr-trx). this fusion enzyme is able to catalyze the reduction of thioredoxin or 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) or 1, 4-naphthoquinone by nadph, though the activity is much lower than that of escherichia coli trxr. it has been ... | 1998 | 9819230 |
| interferon-gamma (ifn-gamma) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-alpha) are necessary in the early stages of induction of cd4 and cd8 cytotoxic t cells by mycobacterium leprae heat shock protein (hsp) 65 kd. | cytotoxic t cells (ctl) may play an important role in host defence against mycobacterial infections. cd4 ctl are preferentially induced by mycobacteria, but both cd4 and cd8 ctl may be necessary components of a protective immune response. the 65-kd mycobacterium heat shock protein (hsp65) is a poor inducer of ctl in multibacillary leprosy (mb) patients. in this study we evaluate the possible role of cytokines in modulating the cytotoxic activity of ctl from leprosy patients and normal individual ... | 1998 | 9822276 |
| leprosy patients with lepromatous disease recognize cross-reactive t cell epitopes in the mycobacterium leprae 10-kd antigen. | t cell responses play a critical role in determining protective responses to leprosy. patients with self-limiting tuberculoid leprosy show high t cell reactivity, while patients with disseminated lepromatous form of the disease show absent to low levels of t cell reactivity. since the t cell reactivity of lepromatous patients to purified protein derivative (ppd), a highly cross-reactive antigen, is similar to that of tuberculoid patients, we queried if lepromatous patients could recognize cross- ... | 1998 | 9822277 |
| activation of human monocytes induces differential resistance to apoptosis with rapid down regulation of caspase-8/flice. | cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage play a central role in both innate and acquired immunity of the host. however, the acquisition of functional competence and the ability to respond to a variety of activating or modulating signals require maturation and differentiation of circulating monocytes and entail alterations in both biochemical and phenotypic profiles of the cells. the process of activation also confers survival signals essential for the functional integrity of monocytes enabling t ... | 1998 | 9826696 |
| anti m. leprae igm antibody determination by ultramicroimmunoenzymatic (umelisa hansen) for the diagnosis and monitoring leprosy. | the relationship between the igm antibody response, antigenic load as well as the clinical improvement after chemotherapy was studied in order to obtain useful data for the early diagnosis and monitoring leprosy. a level of 82% (94/115) agreement was obtained between igm umelisa hansen and slit-skin smear examination. discrepant results were observed in 16 patients who showed positive igm response despite negative by the skin smear examination. in these patients, the igm response was seen to be ... | 1998 | 9830732 |
| isolation of recombinant phage clones expressing mycobacterial t cell antigens by screening a recombinant dna library with human cd4+ th1 clones. | a lambda gt11 recombinant dna library of mycobacterium leprae was screened to isolate recombinant phage clones expressing mycobacterial antigens important for t cell reactivity. the library was plated on a lawn of escherichia coli y1090 and recombinant antigens were expressed from isolated phage clones in 96-well plates. pools of recombinant antigens from 12 wells were tested in t cell proliferation assays with mhc class ii restricted human cd4+ th1 clones secreting interferon-gamma and cytotoxi ... | 1998 | 9848681 |
| role of alpha-dystroglycan as a schwann cell receptor for mycobacterium leprae. | alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-dg) is a component of the dystroglycan complex, which is involved in early development and morphogenesis and in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies. here, alpha-dg was shown to serve as a schwann cell receptor for mycobacterium leprae, the causative organism of leprosy. mycobacterium leprae specifically bound to alpha-dg only in the presence of the g domain of the alpha2 chain of laminin-2. native alpha-dg competitively inhibited the laminin-2-mediated m. leprae bi ... | 1998 | 9851927 |
| identification of fur, aconitase, and other proteins expressed by mycobacterium tuberculosis under conditions of low and high concentrations of iron by combined two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. | iron plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of mycobacterium tuberculosis. to gain a better understanding of iron regulation by this organism, we have used two-dimensional (2-d) gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and database searching to study protein expression in m. tuberculosis under conditions of high and low iron concentration. proteins in cellular extracts from m. tuberculosis erdman strain grown under low-iron (1 microm) and high-iron (70 microm) conditions were separated by 2 ... | 1999 | 9864233 |
| opposite cellular accumulation and nitric oxide production in vivo after pleural immunization with m. leprae or m. bovis bcg. | mycobacteria as intracellular pathogens have evolved mechanisms to survive within macrophages. our previous data showed that m. leprae (ml), unlike m. bovis bcg, did not induce an inflammatory response in the mice subcutaneous tissue. further, ml inhibited bcg-induced foot pad oedema and seemed to transform macrophages in epithelioid cells. since these mycobacteria share common antigens, here we seeked to compare the acute and chronic cellular response evoked by ml and bcg in pleurisy of a mycob ... | 1999 | 9864388 |
| dapsone at onset of diabetes lowers glycated hemoglobin and delays death in nod mice. | dapsone (4,4'-diaminodiphenyl sulfone) is a compound that has a large clinical experience due to its antimicrobial effects against mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy. it is increasingly used in a number of clinical situations where inflammation may play an ancillary role. an inhibitory effect of the drug or lack thereof in the cumulative incidence or propagation of diabetes mellitus in the nod mouse has mechanistic as well as therapeutic implications. we previously showed that ... | 1998 | 9867128 |
| multibacillary leprosy: lesions with macrophages positive for s100 protein and dendritic cells positive for factor 13a. | in the defense against mycobacterium leprae, macrophages play an essential part in the mechanism of bacterial lysis but require the presence of cytokines such as interleukin 2 and gamma interferon from lymphocytes in order to effectively kill the organisms in any number. while there have been many studies of the lymphocytes in lesions of leprosy, less attention has been given to the immunohistochemical characterization of the macrophage populations. in this study, the cutaneous lesions of 69 pat ... | 1998 | 9870671 |
| correlation of quantitative tests of nerve and target organ dysfunction with skin immunohistology in leprosy. | loss of nociception and hypohidrosis in skin are hallmarks of leprosy, attributed to early invasion by mycobacterium leprae of schwann cells related to unmyelinated nerve fibres. we have studied skin lesions and contralateral clinically unaffected skin in 28 patients across the leprosy spectrum with a range of selective quantitative sensory and autonomic tests, prior to biopsy of both sites. unaffected sites showed normal skin innervation, when antibodies to the pan-neuronal marker pgp (protein ... | 1998 | 9874477 |
| secreted proteins of mycobacterium leprae. | in mycobacteria, secreted proteins represent a distinct group, probably of particular importance for development of immune responses following infection. quantification of individual proteins in culture fluid and corresponding disrupted bacilli permits determination of a localization index for identification of secreted proteins. this procedure cannot be applied to mycobacterium leprae because secreted proteins are lost during isolation of bacilli from tissues. the dna sequences of secreted prot ... | 1998 | 9874491 |
| a welcome mat for leprosy and lassa fever. | 1998 | 9874652 | |
| t cell responses to heat-shock protein 60: differential responses by cd4+ t cell subsets according to their expression of cd45 isotypes. | we demonstrate that human t lymphocytes proliferate in vitro to highly purified human heat-shock protein 60 (hu.hsp60). the response to this self ag was confined to the cd45ra+ ro- t cell subset, with minimal responses by adult cd45ra- ro+ t cells. experiments using keyhole limpet hemocyanin as a prototypic novel ag, or tetanus toxoid as a recall ag, were consistent with the notion that cd45ra+ ro- and cd45ra- ro+ t cell subsets can be designated as naive and memory cells, respectively; thus, re ... | 1999 | 9916689 |
| [how should leprosy be treated?]. | 1998 | 9922859 | |
| [leprosy disclosed by polyarthritis]. | we report a case of leprosy observed in a french woman who had lived in africa 30 years earlier. the clinical presentation was misleading, suggesting connective tissue disease. | 1998 | 9922861 |
| delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions followed by erythema nodosum leprosum. | reported herein are 13 borderline lepromatous (bl) or subpolar lepromatous (lls) patients who presented with or developed delayed-type hypersensitivity (dth) reactions after initiation of antibacterial therapy, but who subsequently developed erythema nodosum leprosum (enl), the dth to enl group. during the same time, three lls patients had enl followed by relapse-associated dth, a significant (p < 0.05) difference in sequence of the two conditions. the dth to enl group had statistically signific ... | 1998 | 9934358 |
| assessment of anti-pgl-i as a prognostic marker of leprosy reaction. | the anti-phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) assay as currently applied for leprosy is conceived as an early marker of asymptomatic infection, early disease diagnosis and cure monitoring. its use as a prognostic marker of reaction is still a matter of controversy. we conducted a case-control study to investigate whether igm and igg anti-pgl-i antibodies could discriminate patients at increased risk of developing reactions. eligible cases were untreated leprosy patients at the onset of type 1 and type ... | 1998 | 9934362 |
| lepromatous orchitis associated with seminoma. | 1998 | 9934365 | |
| cd1 expression by dendritic cells in human leprosy lesions: correlation with effective host immunity. | a potential role for the cd1 family of lipid ag-presenting molecules in antimicrobial immunity in vivo was investigated in human leprosy skin lesions. strong induction of three cd1 proteins (cd1a, -b, and -c) was observed in dermal granulomas in biopsy samples of involved skin from patients with the tuberculoid form of leprosy or with reversal reactions, which represent clinical patterns of disease associated with active cellular immunity to mycobacterium leprae. in contrast, lesions from patien ... | 1999 | 9973451 |
| specificity and function of immunogenic peptides from the 35-kilodalton protein of mycobacterium leprae. | we identified a t-cell determinant of the 35-kda antigen of mycobacterium leprae which is discriminatory against cross-sensitization by its closely related homologue in mycobacterium avium. from synthetic peptides covering the entire sequence, those with the highest affinity and permissive binding to purified hla-dr molecules were evaluated for the stimulation of proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) from leprosy patients and healthy sensitized controls. responses to the pe ... | 1999 | 10024600 |
| the clpb atpase of streptomyces albus g belongs to the hspr heat shock regulon. | the clpb gene of streptomyces albus was cloned by polymerase chain reaction (pcr) using degenerate oligonucleotides. transcriptional analysis showed that the clpb gene was heat induced. primer extension identified a transcription start site preceded by typical vegetative -10 and -35 hexamer sequences. the streptomyces hspr repressor is known to bind to three inverted repeat motifs (ir1, ir2, ir3) upstream from the s. coelicolor dnak operon. we identified an inverted repeat motif identical to ir3 ... | 1999 | 10027969 |
| [present situation of leprosy in highly endemic area of tropical asia--a seroepidemiological study of mycobacterium leprae infection in general inhabitants]. | one of the most important unsolved problems in epidemiology of leprosy is the heterogeneous geographic distribution of the disease. there are highly endemic area called "pocket" in the endemic countries. little is known why leprosy is so endemic in the area. we conducted, therefore, an epidemiological study on m. leprae infection and distribution of leprosy bacilli in the environment by using serological and molecular biological techniques. it was found that considerable number of general inhabi ... | 1998 | 10028831 |
| clofazimine therapy for lepromatous leprosy: a historical perspective. | 1999 | 10065616 | |
| comparative mycobacterial genomics. | genomics is providing us with a mass of information about the biochemistry, physiology and pathogenesis of mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae. comparison of the two genome sequences is mutually enriching and indicates that the m. leprae genome appears to have undergone shrinkage and large-scale gene inactivation, which may account for the exceptionally slow growth of this organism. | 1998 | 10066528 |
| immune responses to recombinant proteins of mycobacterium leprae. | identification of antigenic determinants of the polar immune response in leprosy may illuminate both protection and pathogenesis. thirty subjects were studied (22 with polar disease and 8 healthy controls who were heavily exposed but disease-free) by assaying the proliferative, interferon (ifn)-gamma, and antibody responses to recombinant antigens of mycobacterium leprae (10, 28, 36, and 65 kda). the 10-kda antigen elicited ifn-gamma production from all tuberculoid (tt) and borderline tuberculoi ... | 1999 | 10068605 |
| rapid detection of mycobacterium bovis on its lipid profile by thin layer chromatography. | sixteen mycobacterium bovis (m. bovis) strains isolated from bovine tissues and one standard reference strain of m. bovis an5 alongwith other species of mycobacteria for comparison were investigated for the presence of phenolic glycolipid (pgl) and phthiocerol dimycocerosate (pdim) for rapid identification of m. bovis by thin-layer chromatography (tlc). the study indicated presence of pgl with an rf value of 0.75 in chloroform-methanol solvent in all 17 m. bovis strains. the dimycocerostate a co ... | 1999 | 10078598 |
| neutrophils isolated from leprosy patients release tnf-alpha and exhibit accelerated apoptosis in vitro. | this study demonstrated that polymorphonuclear neutrophils (pmn) participate in the acute inflammatory response in leprosy as effector cells. lepromatous patients present intense infiltrate of neutrophils in reactional (enl) lesions. circulating pmn of nonreactional patients, healthy donors, and reactional patients were purified and analyzed in vitro. the study confirmed the short lifespan of these cells in culture with progressive changes characteristic of apoptosis. apoptosis was greatly accel ... | 1999 | 10080541 |
| comparative leprosy vaccine trial in south india. | this report provides results from a controlled, double blind, randomized, prophylactic leprosy vaccine trial conducted in south india. four vaccines, viz bcg, bcg+ killed m. leprae, m.w and icrc were studied in this trial in comparison with normal saline placebo. from about 3,00,000 people, 2,16,000 were found eligible for vaccination and among them, 1,71,400 volunteered to participate in the study. intake for the study was completed in two and a half years from january 1991. there was no instan ... | 1998 | 10189587 |
| quality control tests for vaccines in leprosy vaccine trial, avadi. | all the vaccines supplied for the large scale comparative leprosy vaccine trial of icrc bacilli, m.w, bcg plus killed m. leprae (candidate vaccines), bcg and normal saline (control arms) at cjil field unit, chennai were tested for quality control by the suppliers following the procedures laid down in the who protocol for killed m. leprae. quality control for bcg was carried out at bcg vaccine laboratory as per protocol. toxicity and sterility tests were done on all the vaccine batches/lots recei ... | 1998 | 10189588 |
| identification of m.leprae in conjunctiva of leprosy patients using the superior tarsal conjunctiva scrape technique. | the technique of superior tarsal conjunctiva scrape was used for identifying m.leprae in the conjunctiva in 56 leprosy patients (all of them multibacillary, some untreated and others treated with multidrug therapy). the technique of tarsal conjunctiva scrape was shown to be more suitable than conjunctival biopsy for identifying lepra bacilli. this technique is also easier to perform and has shown a statistical relation between bacilloscopical index of skin (bisk) and bacilloscopical index of tar ... | 1998 | 10189589 |
| why mycobacterium leprae invades the eyes? | 1998 | 10189593 | |
| immunochemotherapy with interferon-gamma and multidrug therapy for multibacillary leprosy. | treatment for multibacillary leprosy is presently performed with a multidrug therapy (mdt) scheme maintained for 2 years. leprosy treatment however can benefit from the reduction of length. the lack of interferon-gamma (ifn-gamma) production by lepromatous leprosy (ll) patients' lymphocytes lead us to use this cytokine in the treatment of multibacillary leprosy associated with mdt in the treatment of multibacillary leprosy, and monitor several clinical and immunological parameters during the cou ... | 1999 | 10206118 |
| the mycelium-associated streptomyces reticuli catalase-peroxidase, its gene and regulation by furs. | during early stages of growth, streptomyces reticuli synthesizes a hyphae-associated, haem-containing enzyme which exhibits catalase and peroxidase activities with broad substrate specificity (cpeb). the purified dimeric enzyme (160 kda) consists of two identical subunits. using anti-cpeb antibodies and an expression- as well as a mini-library, the corresponding cpeb gene was identified and sequenced. it encodes a protein of 740 aa with a molecular mass of 81.3 kda. the deduced protein shares th ... | 1999 | 10217488 |
| in vitro and in vivo activity of k-130, a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, against mycobacterium leprae. | the antimicrobial effects of a new dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, k-130 (2,4-diaminodiphenyl sulfone substituted 2,4-diamino-5-benzylpyrimidine), alone and in combination with dapsone (cas 80-08-0) against both dapsone-sensitive and dapsone-resistant strains of mycobacterium leprae were evaluated in vitro, in cell-free culture system, and in vivo, in mouse foot pads. the minimal inhibitory concentration of k-130 against dapsone-sensitive as well as dapsone resistant strains of m, leprae was ... | 1999 | 10219472 |
| oropharyngeal leprosy in art, history, and medicine. | advanced lesions of the face, nasopharynx, and oropharynx have played an important role in the medical and social history of hansen's disease. renaissance artists included detailed portrayals of these lesions in some of their paintings, a testimony not only to their artistic skill and powers of observation but also to the common presence of these patients in european cities and towns of the period. the disease is now understood as a broad immunologic spectrum of host responses to mycobacterium l ... | 1999 | 10225629 |