Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| il-18 promotes type 1 cytokine production from nk cells and t cells in human intracellular infection. | we investigated the role of il-18 in leprosy, a disease characterized by polar cytokine responses that correlate with clinical disease. in vivo, il-18 mrna expression was higher in lesions from resistant tuberculoid as compared with susceptible lepromatous patients, and, in vitro, monocytes produced il-18 in response to mycobacterium leprae. ril-18 augmented m. leprae-induced ifn-gamma in tuberculoid patients, but not lepromatous patients, while il-4 production was not induced by il-18. anti-il- ... | 1999 | 10229854 |
| species variation in atp-dependent protein degradation: protease profiles differ between mycobacteria and protease functions differ between mycobacterium smegmatis and escherichia coli. | we report here that the existence of the potentially broad substrate specificity protease lon (also called la), is evolutionarily discontinuous within the order actinomycetales. lon homologues were identified in the fast-growing species mycobacterium smegmatis, and the slow-growing species micobacterium avium and mycobacterium intracellulare. however, lon homologues were not detected in the slow-growing species mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium bovis, or mycobacterium leprae; or in the n ... | 1999 | 10231573 |
| leprosy relapse presenting in a histoid form after multidrug therapy. | 1999 | 10233341 | |
| dominant recognition of a cross-reactive b-cell epitope in mycobacterium leprae 10 k antigen by immunoglobulin g1 antibodies across the disease spectrum in leprosy. | mycobacterium leprae-specific immunoglobulin g1 (igg1) antibodies in patients with leprosy show a direct correlation with bacterial load (rho=0.748; p<0002) suggesting that igg1 b-cell responses may be surrogate markers of disease progression. to investigate if this upregulation was a general feature of igg1 responses to all m. leprae (ml) antigens, we analysed responses to several recombinant purified ml heat-shock proteins (hsp). three recombinant hsps (ml10 k, ml 18 k and ml 65 k) were tested ... | 1999 | 10233750 |
| species-specific identification of mycobacterium leprae by pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the hsp65 gene. | pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (pra) of the hsp65 gene present in all mycobacteria was used in the present investigation to characterize mycobacterium leprae. bacilli were extracted and purified from different organs from experimentally infected armadillos and nude mice (swiss mice of nu/nu origin). a total of 15 samples were assayed in duplicate, and the results were compared with those obtained for a total of 147 cultivable mycobacteria representing 34 species. irrespect ... | 1999 | 10325367 |
| localization of mycobacterium leprae to endothelial cells of epineurial and perineurial blood vessels and lymphatics. | infection of peripheral nerve by mycobacterium leprae, the histopathological hallmark of leprosy, is a major factor in this disease, but the route and mechanisms by which bacilli localize to peripheral nerve are unknown. experimentally infected armadillos have recently been recognized as a model of lepromatous neuritis; the major site of early accumulation of m. leprae is epineurial. to determine the epineurial cells involved, 1-cm segments of 44 nerves from armadillos were screened for acid-fas ... | 1999 | 10329613 |
| use of a whole blood assay to evaluate in vitro t cell responses to new leprosy skin test antigens in leprosy patients and healthy subjects. | development of an immunological tool to detect infection with mycobacterium leprae would greatly benefit leprosy control programmes, as demonstrated by the contribution of the tuberculin test to tuberculosis control. in a new approach to develop a 'tuberculin-like' reagent for use in leprosy, two new fractions of m. leprae depleted of cross-reactive and immunomodulatory lipids- mlsa-lam (cytosol-derived) and mlcwa (cell wall-derived)-have been produced in a form suitable for use as skin test rea ... | 1999 | 10337017 |
| evolutionary bottlenecks in the agents of tuberculosis, leprosy, and paratuberculosis. | parasitic mycobacteria cause important human and animal diseases including tuberculosis, leprosy, and paratuberculosis. several methods demonstrate a high degree of sequence conservation in three parasitic mycobacterial species (mycobacterium tuberculosis, m. leprae, and m. avium subspecies paratuberculosis). each of these species has completely conserved deoxyribonucleic acid (dna) sequence in an internal transcribed spacer. in contrast, several species of environmental mycobacteria (m. intrace ... | 1999 | 10340288 |
| sensitivity and specificity of methods of classification of leprosy without use of skin-smear examination. | 1998 | 10347564 | |
| incidence of nerve damage in leprosy patients treated with mdt. | the incidence rates of sensory and motor impairments during and after multidrug therapy (mdt) are reported for a prospective cohort of patients who had no nerve damage at registration (n = 1621). sensory and motor loss increased with age and both were high among multibacillary patients as compared with paucibacillary patients. the lateral popliteal (common peroneal) and posterior tibial nerves seem to be most affected for sensory loss; whereas the posterior tibial and ulnar nerves are mainly res ... | 1998 | 10347565 |
| susceptibility to mycobacterium leprae of aly (alymphoplasia) mice and ifn-gamma induction in the culture supernatant of spleen cells. | the aly/aly (alymphoplasia) mice from a mutation of a colony of the c57bl/6j mouse strain, which has a systemic absence of lymph nodes and peyer's patches, are deficient in both t- and b-cell-mediated immune functions. we have undertaken a comparison of susceptibility to mycobacterium leprae of aly (aly/aly, aly/+) mice with c57bl/6j mice. the aly/aly mouse was found to have an excellent high susceptibility to m. leprae with no distinction between female and male. the aly/+ mouse also was more s ... | 1998 | 10347567 |
| cellular immune responses of healthy and mycobacterium leprae-inoculated armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus) | 1998 | 10347570 | |
| achievements and prospects on leprosy prevention and control in china. | 1998 | 10347571 | |
| taking home lessons from the 15th international leprosy congress. | 1998 | 10347572 | |
| report of workshop on defining the disease and antibacterial therapy. | 1998 | 10347574 | |
| causative organism and host response early diagnosis of leprosy. | 1998 | 10347582 | |
| vaccine trials against leprosy. | 1998 | 10347583 | |
| the mycobacterium leprae genome project. | 1998 | 10347584 | |
| report of workshop on new tools for diagnosis and epidemiology. | 1998 | 10347586 | |
| report of workshop on epidemiology/transmission/vaccines. | 1998 | 10347588 | |
| report of workshop on pathogenesis and lessons from leprosy. | 1998 | 10347589 | |
| report of workshop on nerve damage and reactions. | 1998 | 10347590 | |
| hla-class ii-associated control of antigen recognition by t cells in leprosy: a prominent role for the 30/31-kda antigens. | the recognition of 16 mycobacterial ags by a panel of t cell lines from leprosy patients and healthy exposed individuals from an endemic population was examined within the context of expressed hla-dr molecules. although overall no significant differences were found between the frequencies of ag recognition in the different subject groups, when ag-specific t cell responses were examined within the context of hla-dr, a highly significant difference was found in the recognition of the 30/31-kda ag. ... | 1999 | 10352313 |
| immunohistological analysis of in situ expression of mycobacterial antigens in skin lesions of leprosy patients across the histopathological spectrum. association of mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan (lam) and mycobacterium leprae phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) with leprosy reactions. | the presence of mycobacterial antigens in leprosy skin lesions was studied by immunohistological methods using monoclonal antibodies (mabs) to mycobacterium leprae-specific phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i) and to cross-reactive mycobacterial antigens of 36 kd, 65 kd, and lipoarabinomannan (lam). the staining patterns with mab to 36 kd and 65 kd were heterogeneous and were also seen in the lesions of other skin diseases. the in situ staining of pgl-i and lam was seen only in leprosy. both antigens w ... | 1999 | 10362804 |
| human t cell recognition of the mycobacterium leprae lsr antigen: epitopes and hla restriction. | we have in this work mapped epitopes and hla molecules used in human t cell recognition of the mycobacterium leprae lsr protein antigen. hla typed healthy subjects immunized with heat killed m. leprae were used as donors to establish antigen reactive cd4+ t cell lines which were screened for proliferative responses against overlapping synthetic peptides covering the c-terminal part of the antigen sequence. by using this approach we were able to identify two epitope regions represented by peptide ... | 1999 | 10378414 |
| chaperonin function depends on structure and disorder in co-chaperonin mobile loops. | co-chaperonins from diverse organisms exhibit mobile loops which fold into a beta hairpin conformation upon binding to the chaperonin. groes, gp31, and human hsp10 mobile loops exhibit a preference for the beta hairpin conformation in the free co-chaperonins, and the conformational dynamics of the human hsp10 mobile loop appear to be restricted by nascent hairpin formation. backbone conformational entropy must weigh against binding of co-chaperonins to chaperonins, and thus the conformational pr ... | 1999 | 10380224 |
| antimycobacterial activities of riminophenazines. | riminophenazines were specifically developed as drugs active against mycobacterium tuberculosis but extensive research over several decades has shown that these compounds are also active against many other mycobacterial infections, particularly those caused by mycobacterium leprae and the mycobacterium avium complex (mac). clofazimine, the lead compound in this series, is included in the regimens that are approved by the who for the treatment of leprosy and has contributed significantly to the c ... | 1999 | 10382882 |
| molecular mechanism of nerve infection in leprosy. | 1999 | 10383223 | |
| inferring the direction of evolutionary changes of genomic base composition. | 1999 | 10390623 | |
| the groes antigens of mycobacterium avium and mycobacterium paratuberculosis. | the groes antigen provokes a strong immune response in human beings with tuberculosis or leprosy. we cloned and sequenced the mycobacterium avium and mycobacterium paratuberculosis groes genes. m. avium and m. paratuberculosis have identical groes sequences which differ from other mycobacterial species. this supports the current formal designation of m. paratuberculosis as m. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. immunodominant epitopes from mycobacterium tuberculosis groes are conserved in m. avium, b ... | 1999 | 10392775 |
| viability and drug sensitivity of m. leprae isolated from long-term who/mdt treated multibacillary leprosy patients. | 1999 | 10405543 | |
| an assessment of the value of midfinger smears in multibacillary leprosy patients. | in view of the different opinions on fingers as sites for persisting bacilli in multibacillary leprosy patients, it was decided to examine the midfingers for the presence of acid-fast bacilli (afb) and establish its usefulness. sixty-nine multibacillary leprosy patients, [lepromatous (ll) and borderline lepromatous (bl)] treated with multidrug therapy for fixed duration (2 years) were analysed. the bacillary load in the midfinger sites was lower when compared to that in the 'compulsory' (both ea ... | 1999 | 10405544 |
| causative organism and host response. international leprosy congress, beijing, 7-12 september 1998. workshop report. | whether or not the leprosy elimination target is met in all endemic countries by the year 2000, the mdt programme will have greatly reduced worldwide prevalence. however, our workshop chairmen were asked to ignore the prevalence-based leprosy 'elimination' programme and focus on recommendations for a long term, incidence-based eradication target where transmission is blocked. they were asked to be concerned with basic leprosy research goals in the post 2000 era. the members of our workshops are ... | 1999 | 10405553 |
| role of s-100 staining in differentiating leprosy from other granulomatous diseases of the skin. | since mycobacterium leprae are rarely demonstrable in the tuberculoid spectrum of leprosy, a confirmatory diagnosis of leprosy can be made on the basis of finding active destruction of cutaneous nerves by granulomatous inflammation in a skin biopsy. immunoperoxidase staining for s-100 protein, which is a marker for schwann cells, was used to delineate nerves in lesional skin biopsies of 25 patients with tuberculoid and borderline tuberculoid leprosy as well as 15 controls with nonleprous granulo ... | 1999 | 10407622 |
| serum markers of treatment success in leprosy. | intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (icam-1) and e-selectin and other variables were evaluated as possible markers of the success of multidrug therapy (mdt) in leprosy. multibacillary (mb, n = 45) and paucibacillary (pb, n = 29) leprosy patients were examined during mdt, which typically lasted 12 months for mb and 6 months for pb patients. serum values for total protein, albumin, immunoglobulin gamma (igg), icam-1, and e-selectin (selectin) were recorded, as were lesion type, number, and distribut ... | 1999 | 10407625 |
| dermal extracellular matrix in cutaneous leprosy lesions. | thirty-eight biopsies of cutaneous lesions from leprosy patients [borderline tuberculoid (bt) 14, borderline lepromatous (bl) 18, lepromatous (ll) 6] were processed for staining of some extracellular matrix (ecm) components (collagen, proteoglycans, elastic fibers and fibronectin). specific histological staining and the indirect immunofluorescence method with antibodies to collagen and fibronectin were utilized. the ecm of the normal dermis was strikingly modified in the inflammatory infiltrate. ... | 1999 | 10407626 |
| roles of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and transforming growth factor-beta in regulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression on murine peritoneal macrophages infected with m. leprae. | profiles of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (icam-1) expression on murine peritoneal macrophages (m phi s) infected with mycobacterium leprae during cultivation were examined with special reference to the regulatory effects of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-alpha) and transforming growth factor-beta (tgf-beta). when m phi s were infected with m. leprae or stimulated with heat-killed m. leprae at day 0, their icam-1 expression, measured in terms of the ratio of m phi s positively stained with ... | 1999 | 10407627 |
| a lost talisman: catastrophic decline in yields of leprosy bacilli from armadillos used for vaccine production. | 1999 | 10407632 | |
| effect of prophylactic corticosteroids on the incidence of reactions in newly diagnosed multibacillary leprosy patients. | 1999 | 10407634 | |
| therapy of tuberculosis in mice by dna vaccination. | mycobacterium tuberculosis continues to kill about 3 million people every year, more than any other single infectious agent. this is attributed primarily to an inadequate immune response towards infecting bacteria, which suffer growth inhibition rather than death and subsequently multiply catastrophically. although the bacillus calmette-guerin (bcg) vaccine is widely used, it has major limitations as a preventative measure. in addition, effective treatment requires that patients take large doses ... | 1999 | 10421369 |
| no effect of anti-leprosy drugs in the prevention of alzheimer's disease and beta-amyloid neurotoxicity. | there is continuing controversy as to whether or not anti-leprosy drugs prevent alzheimer's disease (ad). therefore, we examined the effect of anti-leprosy drugs on the prevalence of ad in leprosy patients, and also investigated the effect of anti-leprosy drugs on amyloid beta-protein (abeta)-induced neurotoxicity in vitro. the present study suggests that anti-leprosy treatments do not prevent the onset of ad. none of our data found anti-leprosy drugs (dapsone, rifampicin, clofazimine, minomycin ... | 1999 | 10426143 |
| igg response to some mycobacterial antigens in selected leprosy patients. | serum samples from selected leprosy patients with putative tuberculosis were tested by indirect elisa to determine the level of igg antibody against six mycobacterial antigen preparations. pcr-positive leprosy patients were confirmed with pgl-i elisa. a ratio of antibodies to antigens of tuberculosis and leprosy was found to be a valuable serological marker for tuberculosis in long-treated leprosy patients. | 1998 | 10437959 |
| identification of sequence similarities between mycobacterium leprae and the myelin proteolipid protein by computational analysis. | this study was undertaken under the assumption that antigenic mimicry plays a role in the pathogenesis of neuropathy in leprosy, a unique feature among mycobacterial diseases. the swiss-prot protein sequence databank was scanned using a computer programme based on an identity matrix algorithm, to identify common amino acid regions between human myelin and mycobacterial proteins. the highlighted motifs were back-tested against a database of mhc-binding peptides (mhcpep). of the 28 common sequence ... | 1999 | 10439321 |
| dapsone resistance does not appear to be associated with a mutation in the dihydropteroate synthase-2 gene of mycobacterium leprae. | evidence suggests that resistance to dapsone (dds) in mycobacterium leprae is related to the enzyme dihydropteroate synthase (dhps). two m. leprae genes (folp-1 and folp-2) encoding dhps-1 and dhps-2, respectively, have been identified through the m. leprae genome project. we have studied dds-susceptible and resistant strains of m. leprae to determine whether the dds-resistant phenotype is associated with a mutation(s) in folp-2 and to establish the number of genomic copies of the gene encoding ... | 1999 | 10439322 |
| searching for 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 mycobacterium tuberculosis culture fluid and corresponding disrupted bacilli permits determination of a localization index for identification of secreted proteins. this procedure cannot be applied for mycobacterium leprae since secreted proteins are lost during isolation of bacilli from tissues. the dna s ... | 1999 | 10439323 |
| an epidemiological study on mycobacterium leprae infection and prevalence of leprosy in endemic villages by molecular biological technique. | one of the most important unsolved questions in epidemiology of leprosy is the highly uneven geographic distribution of the disease. there are many hyperendemic "pockets" in endemic countries. little is known about the reasons why leprosy is hyperendemic in these areas. we conducted, therefore, a series of epidemiological studies on mycobacterium leprae infection and prevalence of leprosy in north maluku district, maluku province, indonesia where leprosy is highly endemic. it was found that cons ... | 1999 | 10439324 |
| molecular techniques for leprosy: present applications and future perspectives. | 1999 | 10439325 | |
| mycobacterium leprae dna in daily using water as a possible source of leprosy infection. | some environmental factors were suspected to be sources of leprosy infection according to the results of total survey in the highly endemic villages in indonesia. m. leprae dna were detected by pcr from 21 out of 44 water sources used daily by villagers. prevalence of leprosy among the people using pcr-positive water for bathing and washing was significantly higher than that among the people who used pcr-negative water. no significant difference in prevalence was, however, recognized in case of ... | 1999 | 10439326 |
| m. leprae recombinant antigens important for t-cell reactivity. | identification of m. leprae antigens recognized by t-cell is important for specific diagnosis, vaccine development and understanding the basic mechanisms involved in protection against and pathogenesis of leprosy. screening of an m. leprae recombinant dna library with antibody probes led to the identification of half a dozen m. leprae antigens recognized by b-cells. when tested for t-cell reactivity, all the antigens recognized by antibodies were shown to have t-cell reactivity. however, among t ... | 1999 | 10439328 |
| the absence of a catalase function in mycobacterium leprae. | 1999 | 10439329 | |
| recombinant proteins from mycobacterium leprae: current status. | 1999 | 10439330 | |
| recombinant antigen: current situation and future. | 1999 | 10439332 | |
| m. leprae-induced alteration in the neurofilament phosphorylation leads to demyelination in leprous nerves: a hypothesis. | 1999 | 10439333 | |
| detection of drug-resistant mycobacterium leprae using molecular methods. | 1999 | 10439334 | |
| resolution of lepromatous leprosy after a short course of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, followed by ofloxacin and clofazimine. | 1999 | 10440294 | |
| opposite effects of m. leprae or m. bovis bcg delipidation on cellular accumulation into mouse pleural cavity. distinct accomplishment of mycobacterial lipids in vivo. | the effect of mycobacterial lipids on the onset of the early acute inflammatory response in balb/c mice pleurisy was investigated. | 1999 | 10442482 |
| interleukin-15 in mycobacterial infection of antigen-presenting cells. | interleukin-15 (il-15) shares many biological functions with il-2 but also exhibits unique effects. some of these represent the potent chemoattractant activity and expansion of distinct t-cell subsets, particularly memory t cells. il-15 may therefore modulate the quality and quantity of cellular immune responses directed against intracellular pathogens. immunohistochemical examination of skin lesions obtained from patients with the lepromatous or the tuberculoid form of hansen's disease revealed ... | 1999 | 10447937 |
| a 21-kda surface protein of mycobacterium leprae binds peripheral nerve laminin-2 and mediates schwann cell invasion. | nerve damage is the hallmark of mycobacterium leprae infection, which results from m. leprae invasion of the schwann cell of the peripheral nervous system. we have recently shown that the laminin-2 isoform, specially the g domain of laminin alpha2 chain, on the schwann cell-axon unit serves as an initial neural target for m. leprae. however, m. leprae surface molecules that mediate bacterial invasion of peripheral nerves are entirely unknown. by using human alpha2 laminins as a probe, a major 28 ... | 1999 | 10449784 |
| the mammalian cell entry operon 1 (mce1) of mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis. | the genome project on mycobacterium tuberculosis h37rv has revealed four mammalian cell entry (mtmce1-4) operons putatively involved with entry and survival of mycobacteria in host cells. a homologous operon to the mtmce1 operon was identified in cosmid b983 of mycobacterium leprae. by comparison with m. tuberculosis, several mutations, or sequencing errors, were predicted at specific sites causing frame shifts in the mlyrbe1a, mlyrbe1b and mlmce1d genes. using targeted sequencing, sequence erro ... | 1999 | 10455007 |
| leishmania species: models of intracellular parasitism. | leishmania species are obligate intracellular parasites of cells of the macrophage-dendritic cell lineage. indeed, the ability to survive and multiply within macrophages is a feature of a surprising number of infectious agents of major importance to public health, including mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium leprae, listeria monocytogenes, salmonella typhimurium, toxoplasma gondii and trypanosoma cruzi. the relationship between such organisms and their host cells is particularly intriguin ... | 1999 | 10462516 |
| how mycobacterium leprae infects peripheral nerves. | 1999 | 10464432 | |
| nerve growth factor (ngf) concentrations in cultured human keratinocytes exposed to mycobacterium leprae cell free extract. | 1999 | 10464440 | |
| onchocerciasis modulates the immune response to mycobacterial antigens. | chronic helminth infection induces a type-2 cellular immune response. in contrast to this, mycobacterial infections commonly induce a type-1 immune response which is considered protective. type-2 responses and diminished type-1 responses to mycobacteria have been previously correlated with active infection states such as pulmonary tuberculosis and lepromatous leprosy. the present study examines the immune responses of children exposed to both the helminth parasite onchocerca volvulus and the myc ... | 1999 | 10469056 |
| lymphoproliferative responses of leprosy patients and healthy controls to nitrocellulose-bound m. leprae antigens. | the lymphoproliferative responses of 51 leprosy patients and 11 healthy contacts were analyzed using the nitrocellulose-bound specific antigen fractions from the cell-free extract of mycobacterium leprae. the main proliferation-inducing fraction for peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the healthy contacts was found to be the fraction ii, bearing antigens in the range of 66-45 kda. however, this fraction failed to induce lymphoproliferation in the leprosy patients, unlike healthy contacts (p < ... | 1999 | 10472365 |
| infection by m. leprae is governed by the temperature at the entry point: a preliminary note. | 1999 | 10472370 | |
| "large numbers" of mycobacterium leprae are discharged from the intact skin of lepromatous patients; a preliminary report. | 1999 | 10472371 | |
| bactericidal action of oral ampicillin/sulbactam against mycobacterium leprae. | we reported previously that an injectable form of ampicillin/sulbactam, unasyn, was bactericidal to mycobacterium leprae multiplying in mouse foot pads. in this study, we examined the effect of an orally active form of ampicillin/sulbactam, sultamicillin, on the growth of m. leprae in mice. three concentrations of the drug, mixed with the feed, were administered from the start until the mice were killed at 6 months; 0.01% of the drug inhibited bacterial growth by 54%, 0.10% by 74% and 0.20% by 9 ... | 1999 | 10473236 |
| diaminodiphenylsulfone resistance of mycobacterium leprae due to mutations in the dihydropteroate synthase gene. | the nucleotide sequence analysis of the dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) gene of six diaminodiphenylsulfone-resistant mycobacterium leprae strains revealed that the mutation was limited at highly conserved amino acid residues 53 or 55. though the mutation at amino acid residue 55 or its homologous site has been reported in other bacteria, the mutation at residue 53 is the first case in bacteria. this is the first paper which links the mutations in dhps and sulfonamide resistance in m. leprae. thi ... | 1999 | 10474189 |
| [the control leprous peripheral neuropathy and chemotherapy]. | clarithromycin(cam), roxithromycin(rxm), minocycline(mino) and fosfomycin(fom) has anti-inflammatory action and immunomodulatory activity, while the anti-mycobacterium leprae activity is shown. cam and rxm suppress the rat carrageenin edema, and mino suppresses the rat adjvant arthritis. there is the immunosuppression on adrenocorticosteroid while the inflammatory cytokine is suppressed. cam, mino, fom suppresses the inflammatory cytokine, while it has the immunomodulatory activity. fusidic acid ... | 1999 | 10481449 |
| [bacteria killing by macrophages via nf-il6 gene dependent mechanism: the susceptibility to mycobacterium leprae in nf-il6 knockout mice]. | transcription factor, nf-il6 recognizes the same nucleotide sequences as c/ebp, and it is predominantly expressed in macrophages. tanaka et al. reported that nf-il6 knockout mice are highly susceptible to listeria monocytogenes and salmonella typhimurium due to impairment of bacteria killing by activated macrophages. we have tried to see the susceptibility for mycobacterium leprae infection with intraperitoneal(i.p.) or both hind foot pad (bhf) in the nf-il6 knockout mice with wild control mice. ... | 1999 | 10481452 |
| a clinical and bacteriological examination of mycobacterium leprae in the epidermis and cutaneous appendages of patients with multibacillary leprosy. | in the specimens examined at ryukyu university hospital, acid-fast bacilli (afb) were observed in the epidermis, cutaneous appendages and endothelial cells of capillaries. these specimens were taken from non-ulcerating skin lesions of patients with multibacillary leprosies such as ll and borderline lepromatous leprosy (bl). of the 211 specimens examined, 23 (10.9%) were afb-positive [afb (+)] in the above mentioned skin regions. these afb (+) samples were taken from nine leprosy patients; six ca ... | 1999 | 10487001 |
| in vitro activity of epiroprim, a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, singly and in combination with brodimoprim and dapsone, against mycobacterium leprae. | the antimicrobial effects of a new dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, epiroprim, alone and in combination with dapsone and brodimoprim against mycobacterium leprae were evaluated in vitro in cell-free culture system. two biochemical parameters were used to measure metabolic activity (and growth) of the organism. the minimal inhibitory activity of epiroprim against m. leprae was 10 mg/l and the action was bactericidal. when combined with dapsone, epiroprim exhibited a strong synergism; on the oth ... | 1999 | 10493608 |
| scrotal lesions in lepromatous leprosy. | 1999 | 10506956 | |
| dystroglycan inside and out. | dystroglycan connects the extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton. key findings in the past year indicate that dystroglycan interacts with a wider repertoire of extracellular ligands than originally appreciated, that dystroglycan plays a critical role in organizing extracellular matrix molecules on the cell surface and in basement membranes, and that at least two human pathogens utilize dystroglycan to gain access to host cells. together, these advances begin to help elucidate important biological ... | 1999 | 10508656 |
| identification of promiscuous epitopes from the mycobacterial 65-kilodalton heat shock protein recognized by human cd4(+) t cells of the mycobacterium leprae memory repertoire. | by using a synthetic peptide approach, we mapped epitopes from the mycobacterial 65-kda heat shock protein (hsp65) recognized by human t cells belonging to the mycobacterium leprae memory repertoire. a panel of hsp65 reactive cd4(+) t-cell lines and clones were established from healthy donors 8 years after immunization with heat-killed m. leprae and then tested for proliferative reactivity against overlapping peptides comprising both the m. leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis hsp65 sequences. ... | 1999 | 10531216 |
| hla-drb1 leprogenic motifs in nigerian population groups. | amino acid residues involved in the peptide binding groove of hla-drb1 alleles were examined in three nigerian ethnic groups with leprosy (n = 287) and 170 controls to determine the role of drb1 alleles in disease outcome with mycobacterium leprae. nine positively charged motifs and two others with neutral charge to the binding groove were detected. these motifs occurred more frequently in leprosy (leprogenic) than was expected by chance (p < 0.0001). in contrast, five motifs with net negative o ... | 1999 | 10540160 |
| activation of human neutrophils by mycobacterial phenolic glycolipids. | the interaction between mycobacterial phenolic glycolipids (pgls) and phagocytes was studied. human neutrophils were allowed to interact with each of four purified mycobacterial pgls and the neutrophil production of reactive oxygen metabolites was followed kinetically by luminol-/isoluminol-amplified chemiluminescence. the pgls from mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium kansasii, respectively, were shown to stimulate the production of oxygen metabolites, while pgls from mycobacterium mari ... | 1999 | 10540187 |
| selective correlation of interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor with immunoglobulin g1 and immunoglobulin g3 subclass antibody in leprosy. | dysregulation of both b- and t-cell responses is observed in leprosy. immunoglobulin g1 (igg1) and igg3 antibody subclasses are selectively elevated towards the lepromatous or disseminated form of the disease accompanied by a depression of t-cell responses. t-cell and macrophage cytokines influence antibody class switching, differentiation and proliferation of b cells. to understand the dynamic nature of the immune response in leprosy, we examined the relationship between circulating mycobacteri ... | 1999 | 10540222 |
| cloning and expression of mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae dihydropteroate synthase in escherichia coli. | the genes for dihydropteroate synthase of mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae were isolated by hybridization with probes amplified from the genomic dna libraries. dna sequencing revealed an open reading frame of 840 bp encoding a protein of 280 amino acids for m. tuberculosis dihydropteroate synthase and an open reading frame of 852 bp encoding a protein of 284 amino acids for m. leprae dihydropteroate synthase. the dihydropteroate synthases were expressed under control of the t5 ... | 1999 | 10542185 |
| detection of viable organisms in leprosy patients treated with multidrug therapy. | cutaneous biopsies were collected from multibacillary leprosy patients who attended the out-patient department of jalma institute for treatment at different time intervals, i.e. 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 30 months, 36 months and 42 months after starting multidrug therapy (mdt) when they were still skin smear positive. biopsies were processed for inoculation into mouse foot pad (mfp) and estimation of bacillary atp levels by bioluminescent assay (atp assay) by earlier established ... | 1999 | 10544720 |
| histology and immuno-histology of lesions clinically suspicious of leprosy. | forty-six patients presenting with lesions clinically suspicious of leprosy were selected among patients attending the outpatient department (opd) of our institute. the lesions were biopsied deeply for histological analysis. the cases chosen commonly belonged to the 20-35 years age group, were predominantly males, with rare cases of leprosy within the family (2/46, 4.35%). the clinical presentation in most of the cases was that of a solitary lesion, (44/46, 95.65%) located in one of the extremit ... | 1999 | 10544721 |
| a comparative study on the mitsuda type response to antigens of chemoautotrophic nocardioform bacteria and to standard lepromin in leprosy patients. | anergy, or contrarily, mitsuda-type responses towards 4 chemoautotrophic nocardioform antigens (can-ags) and a control standard lepromin were tested in 73 ll, tt and borderline cases of leprosy. the antigens injected per patient varied from a maximum of 5 to a minimum of 2. complete anergy to can-ags was seen in 92/92 instances tested on 24 ll cases. the anergy was weakly modified or unmodified in 3 other ll cases which had been vaccinated before. concurrent studies with the same antigens tested ... | 1999 | 10544723 |
| mycobacterium leprae particle agglutination in diagnosis and monitoring of treatment of leprosy. | igm antibody levels against pgl-1 antigen were measured by m. leprae particle agglutination (mlpa) in 156 untreated leprosy patients. the seropositivity rate was much higher in newly untreated mb patients (84.7%) than in pb patients (19.7%). the mean mlpa titers in mb and pb declined significantly after 1 month of mdt (p < 0.001). seropositivities in control serum specimens were 11.3 per cent in active pulmonary tuberculosis patients, 2.6 per cent in dermatologic patients and 4.4 per cent in a h ... | 1999 | 10561966 |
| anti-phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) determination using blood collection on filter paper in leprosy patients. | the authors studied 70 leprosy patients and 20 normal individuals, comparing the traditional sera collection method and the finger prick blood with the conservation on filter paper for specific antibodies against the native phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) from mycobacterium leprae. the finger prick blood dried on filter paper was eluated in phosphate buffer saline (pbs) containing 0.5% gelatin. the classical method for native pgl-i was performed for these eluates, and compared with the antibody de ... | 1999 | 10564918 |
| significant differences between the g+c content of synonymous codons in orthologous genes and the genomic g+c content. | the relationship between the overall g+c content of the genome (gc) and the gc content at the third codon positions (gc3) of genes, which we refer to as a gc3-plot, was examined using 15 currently available complete genome sequences. a remarkably linear relationship was found between these two quantities, confirming previous observations of a strong positive correlation in the gc3-plot. in order to conduct a more detailed analysis of the gc3-plot, we examined the gc3 content by separating orthol ... | 1999 | 10570981 |
| addiction of anti-cd28 antibodies restores pbmc proliferation and ifn-gamma production in lepromatous leprosy patients. | during antigen recognition, t lymphocytes are primed by a physical interaction with antigen-presenting cells (apc). at least two signals are needed to activate t cells. one is provided by t cell receptor (tcr)/cd3 in the context of the mayor histocompatibility complex (mhc), and another signal is mediated by antigen-independent molecules, that is t cell membrane-bound cd28 and its specific ligand b7-1 (cd80) present in apc. both signals trigger a series of metabolic events initiating right at th ... | 1999 | 10574615 |
| simlep: a simulation model for leprosy transmission and control. | simlep is a computer program for modeling the transmission and control of leprosy which can be used to project epidemiologic trends over time, producing output on indicators such as prevalence, incidence and case-detection rates of leprosy. in simlep, health states have been defined that represent immunologic conditions and stages of leprosy infection and disease. three types of interventions are incorporated: vaccination, case detection and chemotherapy treatment. uncertainties about leprosy ha ... | 1999 | 10575401 |
| comparison of two methods of leprosy case finding in the circle of kita in mali. | kita is a health district of mali, a leprosy-endemic country in west africa. we conducted a comparative study of passive and active case finding of leprosy in this district in 1997. in may and june, a mobile team realized active case finding by visiting 32 villages of more than 1000 inhabitants. for 12 months, peripheral health center nurses did passive detection after information and education sessions about the signs of leprosy in the other 37 main villages of kita. the active detection rate ( ... | 1999 | 10575402 |
| seroprevalence rates of antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-i among school children as an indicator of leprosy endemicity. | in order to study whether the seroprevalence of antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) among school children is a useful indicator of the leprosy problem in certain areas, school surveys were carried out. these surveys have the advantage of targeting an easily accessible, stable and standardized population. antibodies to the species-specific pgl-i of mycobacterium leprae were detected in a simple gelatin particle agglutination test. we have determined the seroprevalence rates in 2835 school ... | 1999 | 10575403 |
| disabilities in multibacillary leprosy following multidrug therapy with and without immunotherapy with mycobacterium w antileprosy vaccine. | a vaccine based on autoclaved mycobacterium w was administered, in addition to standard multidrug therapy (mdt), to 157 bacteriologically positive, lepromin-negative, multibacillary leprosy patients supported by a well-matched control group of 147 patients with similar type of disease who received a placebo injection in addition to mdt. the mdt was given for a minimum period of 2 years and continued until skin-smear negativity, while the vaccine/placebo was given at 3-month intervals up to a max ... | 1999 | 10575404 |
| induction of lepromin positivity following immuno-chemotherapy with mycobacterium w vaccine and multidrug therapy and its impact on bacteriological clearance in multibacillary leprosy: report on a hospital-based clinical trial with the candidate antileprosy vaccine. | a vaccine based on autoclaved mycobacterium w was administered, in addition to standard multidrug therapy (mdt), to 157 bacteriologically positive, lepromin-negative, multibacillary (ll, bl and bb) leprosy patients. the vaccinees were supported by a well-matched control group of 147 patients with similar type of disease who received a placebo injection in addition to mdt. the mdt was given for a minimum period of 2 years and continued until skin-smear negativity, while the vaccine was given at 3 ... | 1999 | 10575405 |
| risk factors for erythema nodosum leprosum. | a retrospective study of new borderline lepromatous and lepromatous patients reporting for multidrug therapy (mdt) for leprosy at the anandaban leprosy hospital, kathmandu, nepal, over an 8-year period was conducted to determine the prevalence of erythema nodosum leprosum (enl), the time and frequency of reactions, and clinical and laboratory parameters associated with enl. an overall prevalence of enl in this cohort of 19% was found. one third of these reactions occurred in patients before mdt ... | 1999 | 10575406 |
| rapid method for diagnosis of leprosy by measurements of antibodies to the m. leprae 35-kda protein: comparison with pgl-i antibodies detected by elisa and "dipstick" methods. | a new rapid immuno-chromatographic test card for the detection of antibodies to the mycobacterium leprae 35-kd protein is described. the new assay is compared in the same group of subjects with a direct enzyme elisa method for 35-kd antibodies and with assays for anti-phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) antibodies using a standard elisa as well as the recently described "dipstick" method. good concordance was found between the rapid methods and the corresponding elisa methods. the detection of untreat ... | 1999 | 10575407 |
| nasal mucosa and skin of smear-positive leprosy patients after 24 months of fixed duration mdt: histopathological and microbiological study. | the skin and nasal mucosa of 10 lepromatous leprosy patients who had completed 24 doses of fixed duration multidrug therapy (mdt) but who continued to be skin-smear positive for acid-fast bacilli (afb) were examined histopathologically. the nasal mucosa showed granuloma fractions that exceeded those seen in the skin specimens, signifying that activity in this region subsides much more gradually than the activity in the skin. mouse foot pad studies done using t900r mice with an inoculum from the ... | 1999 | 10575409 |
| a study on the methods for early serological diagnosis of leprosy and their potential use. | this is a serial study. in this series we have established 12 methods for the early serological diagnosis of leprosy, including the fla-abs test, elisas with artificial products (nd-o-, nd-p-, nt-o-, nt-p-bsa; pgl-i, whole m. leprae and m. smegmatis), monoclonal antibody specific binding assay (mcab/sba), latex agglutination test (lat), and mlpa. these methods were compared with each other on a large scale in leprosy patients and in the field. the results indicate that 1) excellent results were ... | 1999 | 10575411 |
| vaccination of mice against the leprosy bacillus with skin-test antigens. | 1999 | 10575412 | |
| single-dose treatment for paucibacillary leprosy; feasibility of long-term follow up. | 1999 | 10575413 | |
| single-dose treatment for paucibacillary leprosy; clinical problems and management. | 1999 | 10575414 | |
| single-dose treatment for paucibacillary leprosy; field implications. | 1999 | 10575415 | |
| the antigen 85 complex vaccine against experimental mycobacterium leprae infection in mice. | the proteins in culture filtrate derived from bacillus calmette-guérin (bcg) were examined for protection against infection by mycobacterium leprae. immunization with the major secreted proteins, antigen 85 complex (ag 85) a, b and c, induced effective protective immunity against multiplication of m. leprae in the foot pads of mice. the most effective protection was observed when mice were immunized with ag 85a. a single immunization with ag 85 could induce antigen-specific interferon gamma (ifn ... | 1999 | 10580191 |