Publications

[production of monoclonal antibodies against mycobacterium leprae].	a series of hybridoma cell lines, which secrete monoclonal antibodies (mcabs), were produced by means of fusion between mouse myeloma cells sp2/o and spleen cells from balb/c mice immunized with whole m. leprae plus unique phenolic glycolipid i(pgl-i) of m. leprae and m. leprae sonicates supernatant fluid (mlss) as immunogen. primary identification indicated that h2 cell line can secrete mcab against the epitope of pgl-i; iiie10 cell line can secrete mcab against pgl-i and mlss and (5) 24 d6c8 c ...	1992	1338709
effect of cutaneous cell-mediated immune response to rifn gamma on mycobacterium leprae viability in the lesions of lepromatous leprosy.	1. studies were carried out to determine the effect of intra-dermal injections of recombinant human interferon-gamma (rifn gamma) on the viability of mycobacterium leprae. twenty-three untreated and 4 treated multibacillary patients, 12 with lepromatous leprosy (ll) and 15 with borderline lepromatous leprosy (bl), were selected for intradermal administration of rifn gamma or ppd. treated patients (ll and bl) had received multi-drug therapy according to the recommendations of the world health org ...	1992	1342221
immunity to intracellular bacteria.	immunity to intracellular bacteria including mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium leprae, and listeria monocytogenes depends on specific t cells. evidence to be described suggests that cd4 alpha/beta t cells, cd8 alpha/beta t cells and gamma/delta t cells which interact with each other and with macrophages contribute to acquired resistance against as well as pathogenesis of intracellular bacterial infections.	1992	1342723
immunoprophylactic trial with combined mycobacterium leprae/bcg vaccine against leprosy: preliminary results.	in an attempt to find a vaccine that gives greater and more consistent protection against leprosy than bcg vaccine, we compared bcg with and without killed mycobacterium leprae in venezuela. close contacts of prevalent leprosy cases were selected as the trial population since they are at greatest risk of leprosy. since 1983, 29,113 contacts have been randomly allocated vaccination with bcg alone or bcg plus 6 x 10(8) irradiated, autoclaved m leprae purified from the tissues of infected armadillo ...	1992	1346818
bettering bcg.		1992	1346823
dna hybridization analysis of mycobacterial dna using the 18-kda protein gene of mycobacterium leprae.	dna hybridization studies using a 611-base pair (bp) probe, encoding the entire 18-kda protein of mycobacterium leprae, demonstrated that m. simiae, m. intracellulare, m. kansasii, m. terrae, adm-2, m. avium, m. scrofulaceum, m. gordonae and m. chelonei appear to possess dna sequences homologous to the 18-kda protein gene of m. leprae. rflp analysis revealed that the restriction sites in the m. leprae 18-kda gene were not conserved in the putative gene homologs of m. simiae and m. intracellulare ...	1992	1349489
mycobacteria contain two groel genes: the second mycobacterium leprae groel gene is arranged in an operon with groes.	in contrast to other bacterial species, mycobacteria were thus far considered to contain groel and groes genes that are present on separate loci on their chromosomes, here, by screening a mycobacterium leprae lambda gt11 expression library with serum from an ethiopian lepromatous leprosy patient, two dna clones were isolated that contain a groel gene arranged in an operon with a groes gene. the complete dna sequence of this groesl operon was determined. the predicted amino acid sequences of the ...	1992	1354834
development of a highly specific diagnostic 23s rdna oligonucleotide probe for mycobacterium leprae.	a 21-mer dna oligonucleotide probe targeting the 23s rrna of mycobacterium leprae was developed and its high specificity demonstrated by dot-blot hybridization. even under relaxed hybridization and washing conditions (20 degrees c below tm) the probe was highly selective in that positive signals were only detected with m. leprae, about half of the slow-growing and one of the fast-growing reference mycobacteria and gordona bronchialis. at more stringent washing temperatures (6 degrees c below tm) ...	1990	1366740
synthesis of the trisaccharide-protein conjugate of the phenolic glycolipid of mycobacterium tuberculosis for the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis.	the trisaccharide segment of the phenolic glycolipid (pgl) of mycobacterium tuberculosis, 2-o-methyl-3-o-[3-o-(2,3,4-tri-o-methyl-alpha-l-fucopyranosyl)-alpha-l- rhamnopyranosyl]-alpha-l-rhamnopyranose, was synthesized in the form of the p-(2-methoxycarbonylethyl)phenyl glycoside by a stepwise condensation. 2,4-di-o-benzyl-3-o-acetyl-alpha-l-rhamnopyranosyl chloride was coupled to p-(2-methoxycarbonylethyl)phenyl 4-o-benzyl-2-o-methyl-alpha-l-rhamnopyranoside in the presence of silver triflate, ...	1991	1368732
high antibody levels to the mycobacterial fibronectin-binding antigen of 30-31 kd in tuberculosis and lepromatous leprosy.	immunoblot assays showed that mycobacterial fibronectin-binding antigens are important targets of the humoral immune response in tuberculosis and leprosy. using culture filtrate antigens of mycobacterium tuberculosis, strong reactivity with the fibronectin-binding of 30-31 kd (fn 30-31) was demonstrated in 55.9% of tuberculosis sera and in 56.5% of lepromatous leprosy sera. sera from patients with tuberculoid leprosy and control sera gave very weak binding. reactivity of tuberculosis and leproma ...	1992	1371953
monoclonal antibody epitopes of mycobacterial 65-kd heat-shock protein defined by epitope scanning.	the binding sites for moabs to the 65-kd heat-shock protein (hsp65) of mycobacteria have been investigated by epitope scanning. five hundred and twenty-six 8-mer peptides representing the complete sequence of mycobacterium tuberculosis hsp65 were synthesised in duplicate using the epitope scanning kit (crb ltd.). the epitopes of six moabs raised to the hsp65 of m. tuberculosis or m. leprae were investigated. we have identified the epitope of a new moab (dc16); this epitope is continuous, hydroph ...	1992	1378362
clarithromycin. a review of its antimicrobial activity, pharmacokinetic properties and therapeutic potential.	clarithromycin is an acid-stable orally administered macrolide antimicrobial drug, structurally related to erythromycin. it has a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, similar to that of erythromycin and inhibits a range of gram-positive and gram-negative organisms, atypical pathogens and some anaerobes. significantly, clarithromycin demonstrates greater in vitro activity than erythromycin against certain pathogens including bacteroides melaninogenicus, chlamydia pneumoniae, chlamydia tracho ...	1992	1379907
composition and immunological properties of the protein fraction of a36, a major antigen complex of mycobacterium paratuberculosis.	tma (thermostable macromolecular antigens) are major mycobacterial complexes present in all mycobacteria. we have purified a36, the tma complex of m. paratuberculosis, the etiological agent of paratuberculosis (johne's disease), and shown by the immune electron microscopy approach its presentation at the cell surface. the immunodominance of the a36 complex in johne's disease was suggested by comparative elisa analysis of infected bovine sera, using either a36 or m. paratuberculosis total soluble ...	1992	1380177
antibody responses to the 18-kda protein of mycobacterium leprae in leprosy and tuberculosis patients.	the 18-kda protein of mycobacterium leprae, as recognized by the monoclonal antibody l5, has a restricted species distribution, being confined to m. leprae and m. habana. we have developed a solid-phase elisa using purified, recombinant m. leprae 18-kda protein and compared the serological responses of nepali leprosy and tuberculosis patients and endemic control subjects to the protein and the m. leprae phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i). few control subjects had anti-18-kda antibodies. a small propo ...	1992	1381739
polymerase chain reaction amplifying dna coding for species-specific rrna of mycobacterium leprae.	the sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) on the dna coding for the species-specific fragment of 16s rrna of mycobacterium leprae studied on mouse foot pad harvests and human skin biopsies varies widely between 1 and 3 x 10(4) organisms. this is probably the result of variations in the proportions of organisms with sufficiently intact dna suitable for pcr. preserving human skin biopsies for 3 weeks at an ambient temperature even after boiling for 6 minutes gives rise to a 10-fold de ...	1992	1381740
the nucleotide sequence of the promoter, 16s rrna and spacer region of the ribosomal rna operon of mycobacterium tuberculosis and comparison with mycobacterium leprae precursor rrna.	mycobacterium tuberculosis h37rv has a single rrn (ribosomal rna) operon. the operon was cloned and a region of 1536 nucleotides was sequenced, starting 621 bp upstream from the 5'-end of the 16s rrna coding region and continuing to the start of the 23s rrna coding region. the 16s rrna sequence inferred from the gene sequence was found to differ in one position from mycobacterium bovis (nucleotide 1443) and from mycobacterium microti (nucleotide 427). a single putative promoter was identified on ...	1992	1382114
identification and characterization of epitopes shared between the mycobacterial 65-kilodalton heat shock protein and the actively secreted antigen 85 complex: their in situ expression on the cell wall surface of mycobacterium leprae.	both mycobacterial hsp65 and the actively secreted antigen 85 complex of 30-kda region proteins are considered to be major immune targets in mycobacterial diseases. in this study, by using a novel series of monoclonal antibodies (mabs) directed to these antigens, we identified and partially characterized three unique epitopes (rb2, pe12, and a2h11) that are shared between mycobacterial hsp65 and the individual components of the antigen 85 complex. dot blot assays with native purified proteins re ...	1992	1383151
functional analysis of dr17(dr3)-restricted mycobacterial t cell epitopes reveals dr17-binding motif and enables the design of allele-specific competitor peptides.	we have previously shown that p3-13 (ktiay-deearr) of the 65-kda heat shock protein (hsp65) of mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae is selected as an important t cell epitope in hla-dr17+ individuals, by selectively binding to (a pocket in) dr17 molecules, the major subset of the dr3 specificity. we have now further studied the interaction between p3-13, hla-dr17 and four different tcr (v beta 5.1, v beta 1, and v beta 4) by using t cell stimulation assays, direct peptide-dr bindi ...	1992	1383331
similarity between mycobacterial and human epidermal antigens.	eight out of 17 mouse anti-mycobacterium leprae monoclonal antibodies (mab) were previously observed to react with human nerve and skin antigenic determinants in cryostat sections, using an indirect immunoperoxidase technique. these observations suggested that antigenic mimicry may be involved in the development of the clinical manifestations of leprosy. in the present study we have extended our earlier findings by investigating sera from leprosy patients and mab using western blot technique. it ...	1992	1384646
mycobacterium leprae produces extracellular homologs of the antigen 85 complex.	the antigen 85 complex is a set of at least three closely related secreted proteins (85a, 85b, and 85c) of 30 to 32 kda produced by mycobacterium tuberculosis and other mycobacteria. their prominence in mycobacterium leprae, the one obligate intracellular pathogen of the genus, had been assumed on the basis of immunological evidence and proof of the existence of the gene encoding the 85b protein of the complex. we have now observed the production of this family of proteins by m. leprae through a ...	1992	1398959
evaluation of four semi-synthetic mycobacterium leprae antigens with sera from healthy populations in endemic and non-endemic areas.	in order to determine the frequency of occurrence of antibodies to semisynthetic antigens of mycobacterium leprae in clinically healthy nonpatient populations and to establish a 'baseline' for comparison with antibody frequencies in both patients with a history of leprosy and their contacts, elisas were conducted using representative sera from two areas: a leprosy endemic area, cebu city, philippines and a nonendemic area for leprosy chicago, illinois, usa. these sera were tested, by an indirect ...	1992	1406016
the relevance of future leprosy vaccines to disease control.		1992	1406044
detection of high titres of toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sera of patients with leprosy in pakistan.	untreated and treated leprosy patients and their household contacts were screened for antibody to toxoplasma gondii using antigen-coated latex particles. a significantly high level of seroprevalence (29.6%) was observed in the untreated leprosy patients compared to endemic controls (p < 0.01) with a mean reciprocal antibody titre of 20,007 +/- 3580 (n = 98) in seropositive patients. in treated patients seroprevalence dropped to 13.5%. seroprevalence in a group of household contacts of leprosy pa ...	1992	1412648
intraocular pressure decrease in household contacts of patients with hansen's disease and endemic control subjects.	we compared the intraocular pressure in 150 urban household contacts of patients with hansen's disease and 132 endemic control subjects from an urban population in karachi, pakistan, who were matched in regard to race, age, gender, and socioeconomic status. the mean intraocular pressure in the upright position was 12.6 mm hg in the right eye and 12.9 mm hg in the left eye in household contacts of patients with hansen's disease and 15.3 mm hg in the right eye and 15.4 mm hg in the left eye in the ...	1992	1415460
clarithromycin: review of a new macrolide antibiotic with improved microbiologic spectrum and favorable pharmacokinetic and adverse effect profiles.	to compare the new macrolide antibiotic clarithromycin with erythromycin in terms of in vitro activity, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, clinical efficacy, and toxicity.	1992	1421677
limiting dilution analysis in leprosy.	peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbm) obtained from leprosy patients and healthy controls were cultured with mycobacterium leprae and the control antigens, bcg and sksd. parallel cultures were supplemented with additional interleukin-2 (il-2). on the basis of the level of response to m. leprae, leprosy patients could be divided into low, intermediate and high responders. the addition of il-2 resulted in enhanced proliferation to antigen only by cells from intermediate responders. this effect ...	1992	1427986
observations on the cultivation of m. leprae and m. tuberculosis in medium 'v' and 'v 1'.	skin scrapings from five different active sites were collected from 14 leprosy patients and inoculated into medium v. skin scrapings from three leprosy patients were inoculated into medium v 1. all the cultures were incubated at 8-10 degrees c. m. tuberculosis h37rv, pretreatment isolates and streptomycin resistant strains were inoculated into medium v, with and without antibiotics, and incubated at 8-10 degrees c as well as 37 degrees c. smears were made from the m. leprae and m. tuberculosis c ...	1992	1431323
experimental vs. natural plasmid gene transfer?		1992	1431330
do human leukocyte antigens have a role to play in differential manifestation of multibacillary leprosy: a study on multibacillary leprosy patients from north india.	118 multibacillary leprosy patients with differential manifestations were studied for the antigens they expressed at mhc loci to investigate the role of human leukocyte antigens in the differential response to the same causative agent. while the lepromatous leprosy (ll) patients showed a significant increase of bw60, dr2, drw8 and dqw1, borderline lepromatous (bl) patients had bw52, dr9 and dqw7 significantly more often as compared to the normal controls. a comparison of ll, bl and mid-borderlin ...	1992	1440566
dot-elisa for detection of phenolic glycolipid pgl-tb1 and diacyl-trehalose antigens of mycobacterium tuberculosis.	a dot-elisa method for detection of 2,3-diacyl-trehalose (dat, previously referred to as sl-iv antigen) and triglycosyl phenol phthiocerol di-mycocerosate (pgl-tb1) antigens from mycobacterium tuberculosis is described. the method enabled the detection of both antigens in 14 clinical isolates of m. tuberculosis from different geographic origins; the presence of the glycolipids was confirmed by chemical analysis. it was therefore concluded that the synthesis of both of these compounds is characte ...	1992	1448617
production of monoclonal antibody to a phenolic glycolipid of mycobacterium tuberculosis and its use in detection of the antigen in clinical isolates.	a monoclonal antibody (mabiii604) specific to phenolic glycolipid tb (pgl-tb), a mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antigen, was produced and used in the detection of the antigen. mabiii604 reacted with the pgl-tb antigen but not with other phenolic glycolipids from mycobacterium leprae, m. bovis, and m. kansasii, thus indicating the specificity of the monoclonal antibody to pgl-tb. a dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with mabiii604 was employed to detect the pgl-tb antigen in lipids purifi ...	1992	1452686
effects of fixation on polymerase chain reaction detection of mycobacterium leprae.	the effects of standard fixatives (10% neutral buffered formalin, ethanol and mercury based) on the detection of mycobacterium leprae dna by the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) were studied. mercury-based fixatives (zenker's and carnoy-lebrun's fluids) strongly inhibited pcr amplification of m. leprae dna. ten percent neutral buffered formalin was inhibitory, but significant inhibition was observed only when fixation times exceeded 24 h. ethanol-based fixatives provided the best medium for holdi ...	1992	1452690
possible roles of anti-mycobacterium leprae antibodies in suppression of the cell-mediated immune response against m. leprae.		1992	1463585
a strategy to improve the efficacy of vaccination against tuberculosis and leprosy.	the pathogens responsible for leprosy, tuberculosis and the leishmaniases can induce different classes of immunity, but protection is provided only by a cell-mediated response. here, peter bretscher proposes a strategy to achieve an immunological imprint that ensures a stable cell-mediated response upon natural infection.	1992	1466750
selective expansion of v delta 1 + t cells from leprosy skin lesions.	t cells bearing gamma delta t-cell receptors (tcrs) are prominent residents of murine epidermis and appear to be important participants in the immune response to infection in human skin. the mitsuda reaction in leprosy, induced by intradermal challenge with mycobacterium leprae, provides an opportunity to study the cellular events that mediate a form of delayed-type hypersensitivity (dth) in skin. t cells bearing gamma delta tcrs comprise a significant proportion of the t-cell population in thes ...	1992	1469299
sensitization potential and reactogenicity of bcg with and without various doses of killed mycobacterium leprae.	a study was conducted in 997 individuals in two villages in south india to find the acceptability and sensitizing effect of the antileprosy combination vaccine of bcg plus killed mycobacterium leprae (kml). three preparations of the combination, bcg 0.1 mg + 6 x 10(8) kml (i), bcg 0.1 mg + 5 x 10(7) kml (ii), and bcg 0.1 mg + 5 x 10(6) kml (iii), along with bcg 0.1 mg (iv), and normal saline (v), were used in the study. each individual received one of the above five preparations by random alloca ...	1992	1474275
an experimental study to evaluate the bactericidal activity of ofloxacin against an established mycobacterium leprae infection.	the bactericidal effect of a new quinolone, ofloxacin (oflo), was determined on an established mycobacterium leprae infection in nude mice. various drug regimens, including combinations of drugs, were examined for different treatment periods. oflo and rifampin (rmp) individually failed to produce significant killing after treatment with a single large dose. however, when single large doses of oflo and rmp were given in combination, a 100-fold reduction in viability was achieved. for a longer per ...	1992	1474279
one-carbon requirements of mycobacterium leprae: need for the folate pathway.		1992	1474283
modern sensitive techniques for the detection of mycobacterium leprae.		1992	1474284
the significance of proteins actively secreted by mycobacterium tuberculosis in relation to immunity and complications of mycobacterial diseases.		1992	1474286
nonhuman sources of leprosy.	our findings establish that there are known extrahuman reservoirs of m. leprae in three animal species. there is considerable evidence that the armadillo plays a role in the epidemiology of leprosy in humans in texas and louisiana. the elimination of leprosy as a public health problem (defined by the world health organization as one active patient per 10,000 population) may be attainable by the wide application of current control measures; however, the ultimate eradication of leprosy must take i ...	1992	1474287
clarithromycin at very low levels and on intermittent administration inhibits the growth of m. leprae in mice.		1992	1474290
detection of mycobacterium leprae and the potential for monitoring antileprosy drug therapy directly from skin biopsies by pcr.	an improved protocol for pcr analysis of mycobacterium leprae-infected tissues, based on enzymatic lysis, has been developed and used to demonstrate the feasibility of using pcr for detecting m. leprae in routine skin biopsies taken from leprosy patients throughout the clinical spectrum. of 92 multibacillary patients tested, 99% were pcr-positive using gel electrophoresis or dna hybridization to detect the amplified product. similar analysis of paucibacillary patients, in which only one of 27 bi ...	1992	1474978
bactericidal action at low doses of a new rifamycin derivative, 3'-hydroxy-5'-(4-isobutyl-1-piperazinyl) benzoxazinorifamycin (krm-1648) on mycobacterium leprae inoculated into footpads of nude mice.	among a series of newly-synthesized benzoxazinorifamycins, 2 of the 3'-hydroxy-5'-(4-alkyl-1-piperazinyl) derivatives, named krm-1648 and krm-2312, whose respective alkyl residues are isobutyl and isopropyl, were examined for efficacy against nude mouse-model leprosy. krm-1648 completely inhibited the growth of leprosy bacilli inoculated into nude mouse footpads, even 6 months after the medication had been stopped, when given orally at a daily dose of 0.6 mg/kg, 5 or 6 times weekly, during 3-5 m ...	1992	1479871
persistence of mycobacterium leprae in the peripheral nerve as compared to the skin of multidrug-treated leprosy patients.	skin and nerve biopsies obtained from 18 multibacillary (mb) and 16 paucibacillary (pb) cases of leprosy who had been fully treated by the who regimen were assessed for bacterial load using different staining techniques. in addition skin and nerve homogenates of 10 mb cases were tested for 'persistor' mycobacterium leprae using immunosuppressed mice. while significant amounts of integral bacilli and bcg cross-reactive antigen of m. leprae were detected both in skin and nerve tissues of all the m ...	1992	1479872
immunotherapeutic potential of icrc vaccine: a case control study.	a bacteriological follow-up of 16 lepromatous patients with a high initial bacteriological index (bi) showed that in 8 randomly selected patients who received single doses of icrc vaccine (c44) at the onset of multidrug therapy, the average reduction of bi was from 4.4+ to 1+ in 2 years--3 of these patients became negative and 3 showed bi 1+ or less. comparable bacteriological assessments in 8 non-vaccinated but otherwise similar patients showed an average reduction of bi from 4.7+ to 2.6+, i.e. ...	1992	1479876
[gerhard henrik armauer hansen--still of current interest].	armauer hansen described his first observation of mycobacterium leprae on 28 february 1873 in detail. his discovery of the leprosy bacillus was the result of a logical process in which distinct stages can be clearly seen. the first step was clinical, and established criteria for leprosy as "a specific disease". the second stage was epidemiological. contrary to the main view favouring a genetic basis, these observations convinced him of the infectious nature of the disease. the third stage was th ...	1992	1485294
[bacteriology of mycobacterium leprae: from the gene technological viewpoint].	recent studies on molecular biology of the mycobacterial gene, especially, of the m. leprae gene were reviewed. the properties of 65kda, alpha-antigen, 36kda and other proteins were focused.	1992	1487452
contributions of laboratory research to current understanding and management of leprosy.		1992	1492373
results of the third immunology of leprosy/immunology of tuberculosis antimycobacterial monoclonal antibody workshop.	an international workshop was sponsored by the world health organization to screen new antimycobacterial monoclonal antibodies and to identify antibodies which could be recommended as standard reagents giving consistent results under differing assay conditions. fifty-eight antibodies were submitted to the workshop by eight independent laboratories. nineteen of the antibodies recognized antigens distinct from those identified in earlier workshops, defining at least 10 new protein antigens. monocl ...	1992	1500202
cytokine patterns of immunologically mediated tissue damage.	reactional states in leprosy are produced by different immunologic mechanisms and are responsible for a major component of tissue damage of the disease. reversal reactions exhibit increased cd4 t cell infiltration in lesions and augmented cell-mediated immune reactivity to ag of mycobacterium leprae that can rapidly produce nerve damage. erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) reactions also have cd4 t cell infiltration but appear to be associated with the formation of immune complexes that are responsi ...	1992	1500726
filter paper blood spot test for detection of anti-nd-bsa antibodies in school children.	for identifying individuals at 'high risk' for developing leprosy, a simplified technique of collection of blood samples on filter paper for detection of anti -nd-bsa antibodies, was optimised. anti-nd-bsa antibody reactivity on the filter paper was lost on storage at room temperature, but was stable at least for a period of 8 wk at lower temperature. among the 1495 children screened, 166 (11.1%) were lepromin negative and 122 (8.2%) positive for anti-nd-bsa antibody. in the first phase, 7 of 87 ...	1992	1506059
field utility of phenolic glycolipid coated latex agglutination test for rapid detection of bacilliferous leprosy cases.	serum samples were collected from eighty-three leprosy patients and twenty-five healthy controls supposedly not exposed to mycobacterium leprae infection. phenolic glycolipid-1 coated latex agglutination test (pgl-lat) was carried out with the serum samples to detect antibodies specific to m. leprae. samples showing positive agglutination were 50% in the lepromatous leprosy (ll) group showing no erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) complications, 66.6% in ll group with enl complication, 60% in border ...	1992	1512452
respiratory burst metabolic status of macrophages in experimental leprosy.	peritoneal macrophages from uninfected controls and mycobacterium leprae infected swiss albino mice were studied for their respiratory burst (rb) activity at different time intervals. the rb metabolic activity of macrophages declined significantly after 3 month infection using latex (p less than 0.001) and m. leprae (p less than 0.01) as stimuli. however, significant rise (p less than 0.001) in the oxidative metabolic activity was seen at 6 and 9 months postinfection period on stimulation with b ...	1992	1512456
tuberculosis and leprosy: attempts to identify t-cell antigens of potential value for vaccine design.	tuberculosis and leprosy are chronic bacterial infectious diseases which represent major health problems worldwide. it is generally accepted that, on the one hand, effective vaccination strategies are required for satisfactory control of these diseases and, on the other hand, that currently available vaccination measures are insufficient for this purpose. ideally, a subunit vaccine should be designed which is composed of one or a few protective antigens. in this brief treatise our approach towar ...	1992	1514057
preliminary study of cellular immunity to mycobacterium leprae protein in contacts and leprosy patients.	because of the good results obtained in the mononuclear cell (t lymphocyte) proliferative response in tuberculoid leprosy patients and family contacts and healthy mitsuda-positive volunteers using mycobacterium leprae soluble extract, we prepared different protein fractions from the soluble extract. we used the t-cell western blot technique with separation by electrophoresis in sds-polyacrylamide gels and transfer onto nitrocellulose membranes. each unstained blot was converted into 18 fractions ...	1992	1522361
sero-immunoreactivity of cloned protein antigens of mycobacterium leprae.	sera from 173 leprosy patients with various types of disease (tuberculoid = tt, borderline tuberculoid = bt, borderline lepromatous = bl, and lepromatous = ll), 12 intrafamilial contacts, and 40 normal healthy individuals were assayed in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) using mycobacterium leprae antigens. recombinant clones carrying m. leprae antigens, namely, y3184 (12 kda), y3179 (18 kda), y3164 (28 kda), y3180 (36 kda), and y3178 (65 kda) and a cell sonicate from armadil ...	1992	1522362
relationships between titers of antibodies immunoreacting against glycolipid antigens from mycobacterium leprae and m. tuberculosis, the mitsuda and mantoux reactions, and bacteriological loads: implications in the pathogenesis, epidemiology and serodiagnosis of leprosy and tuberculosis.	analysis of cell-mediated immunity [(cmi) as judged from the mantoux, fernandez, and mitsuda reactions and the presence of granulomas in biopsy material] against humoral immunity (measurements of anti-pgl-i, pgl-tb1, and sl-iv igg and igm antibody titers by elisa) were performed in selected human populations. the investigations yielded data indicating that humoral (b-cell) responses preceded protective cmi in both tuberculosis and leprosy. the b-cell responses were unrelated to (unfavorable) cel ...	1992	1522363
human phagocyte respiratory burst by mycobacterium bovis bcg and m. leprae: functional activation by bcg is mediated by complement and its receptors on monocytes.	we have measured the role of serum components on two parameters of the phagocytosis reaction: a) the chemiluminescence (cl) response associated with the oxidative respiratory burst in response to mycobacterium bovis bcg and m. leprae, and b) the uptake of these two mycobacteria by healthy human monocytes. pre-incubations of fresh or heat-inactivated serum or serum containing egta or edta indicate that these two mycobacteria activate the alternative complement pathway. monoclonal antibodies again ...	1992	1522364
isolation of cultivable mycobacteria from feces and lungs of armadillos infected with mycobacterium leprae.	in the past, no cultivable mycobacteria were isolated from armadillos captured in the state of florida, u.s.a. but recent findings of acid-fast bacilli (afb) in the lungs of armadillos infected with mycobacterium leprae prompted us to undertake this study to determine the correlation between systemic leprosy infection and the occurrence of cultivable mycobacteria in the lungs and stools of these animals. no afb could be isolated from noninfected animals. seventy percent of the infected animals d ...	1992	1522365
a quantitative basis for sustainable anti-mycobacterium leprae chemotherapy in leprosy control programs.		1992	1522367
minimal bactericidal dietary concentration of minocycline for mycobacterium leprae-infected mice is very low and similar to its minimal inhibitory dietary concentration.		1992	1522371
improved method for purification of mycobacterium leprae from armadillo tissues.		1992	1522372
water soluble palmitic acid-methylated cyclodextrin complex; a substrate oxidized by mycobacterium leprae.		1992	1522373
avidin-biotin immunoblotting studies on reactivity of leprosy sera with mycobacterium leprae antigen.		1992	1522374
role of th-1 lymphocytes in the development of protective immunity against mycobacterium leprae. analysis of lymphocyte function by polymerase chain reaction detection of cytokine messenger rna.	the patterns of lymphokine mrna expression during the development of protective immunity to mycobacterium leprae after intradermal vaccination of mice with killed m. leprae were studied. using a polymerase chain reaction-based technique for detecting mrna expression in small numbers of cells, we observed changes in the mrna expression of a number of cytokine genes in the lymph nodes draining the site of vaccination. in particular, il-1 (-alpha and -beta), il-2, tnf (-alpha and -beta), and ifn-ga ...	1992	1531845
molecular and immunological analysis of a fibronectin-binding protein antigen secreted by mycobacterium leprae.	by screening a mycobacterium leprae lambda gt11 genomic dna library with leprosy-patient sera we have previously identified 50 recombinant clones that expressed novel m. leprae antigens (sathish et al., 1990). in this study, we show by dna sequencing and immunoblot analysis that three of these clones express a m. leprae homologue of the fibronectin-binding antigen 85 complex of mycobacteria. the complete gene was characterized and it encodes a 327-amino-acid polypeptide, consisting of a consensu ...	1992	1532043
major proteins of mycobacterial strain icrc and mycobacterium leprae, identified by antibodies in sera from leprosy patients and their contacts.	sera from leprosy patients across the clinical spectrum, healthy contacts, tuberculosis patients, and healthy donors were tested for their reactivity with antigens of mycobacterial strain icrc (a cultivable mycobacterium) and mycobacterium leprae by immunoprecipitation technique. using m. leprae antigens, it was not possible to distinguish between reactivities of sera from lepromatous, borderline lepromatous, borderline tuberculoid, and tuberculoid leprosy patients. all these sera identified m. ...	1992	1537902
gamma delta t lymphocytes in human tuberculosis.	the manifestations of tuberculous infection reflect the immune response to infection. most healthy tuberculin reactors develop protective immunity; tuberculous pleuritis reflects a resistant response manifest by mild disease, whereas advanced pulmonary and miliary tuberculosis reflect ineffective immunity. the role of gamma delta t cells was assessed in tuberculous infection by evaluating expansion of these cells from blood mononuclear cells after stimulation with mycobacterium tuberculosis. aft ...	1992	1538155
the immunopathology of systemic anergy in infectious diseases: a reappraisal and new perspectives.		1992	1541050
the variable c-terminal region of the mycobacterium leprae 70-kilodalton heat shock protein is the target for humoral immune responses.	the 70-kda heat shock protein of mycobacterium leprae has a high degree of homology with the human hsp70 protein, yet it still elicits t-lymphocyte responses in subjects infected with m. leprae or vaccinated with the related mycobacterium bovis bcg. we examined the serological responses to this protein by using recombinant protein fragments expressed from mutants with deletions of the m. leprae p70 gene. monoclonal antibodies raised against either m. bovis or m. leprae p70 reacted with the c-ter ...	1992	1541533
mycobacterial protein antigens: a compilation.	in response to recommendations from the steering committees responsible for co-ordination of world health organization programmes for research on the immunology of leprosy (immlep) and tuberculosis (immtub), a list was prepared summarizing the properties of mycobacterial proteins currently under investigation with respect to their immunological activities. after consultation with more than 40 laboratories world-wide this list was extended to form the compilation shown below and is intended to pr ...	1992	1545700
tnf-alpha failed to reverse the m. leprae-induced defective chemiluminescence response of human mononuclear cells.	the effect of phagocyte activation by tnf-alpha on the ability to trigger a chemiluminescence (cl) response, associated with the release of oxidizing species was evaluated in healthy human mononuclear cells in the presence of mycobacterium leprae. recombinant tnf-alpha (r-tnf-alpha) increased the cl response of unstimulated m. bovis bcg- and pma-stimulated cells but did not reverse the m. leprae defective activation of the human phagocyte oxidative burst. m. leprae was less well phagocytosed tha ...	1992	1547026
tumor necrosis factor production in patients with leprosy.	the spectrum of host responses to mycobacterium leprae provides a model for investigating the role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of mycobacterial disease. of particular interest is tumor necrosis factor (tnf), a cytokine which may have both antimycobacterial and immunopathologic effects. to evaluate the potential role of tnf in leprosy, we measured tnf production in response to m. leprae and its defined constituents by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients across the spectrum of di ...	1992	1548069
hansen and his discovery of mycobacterium leprae.	hansen possessed keen scientific insight and a strong personal character. these qualities were necessary to overcome many obstacles barring the path to his lifetime goal of eradicating leprosy from norway. this paper is the 1991 winner of the stephen wickes prize in the history of medicine.	1992	1549260
lipoarabinomannan. multiglycosylated form of the mycobacterial mannosylphosphatidylinositols.	the lipopolysaccharides of mycobacteria, lipoarabinomannan (lam) and lipomannan (lm), of key importance in host-pathogen interaction, were recently shown to contain a phosphatidylinositol "anchoring domain." we now have established that lam and lm are based on the phosphatidylinositol mannosides, the characteristic glycophospholipids of mycobacteria. digestion of the arabinose-free lm with an endo-alpha 1----6-mannosidase yielded evidence for the presence of the 1-(sn-glycerol-3-phospho)-d-myo-i ...	1992	1556131
mycobacterium leprae 65hsp antigen expressed from a retroviral vector in a macrophage cell line is presented to t cells in association with mhc class ii in addition to mhc class i.	mycobacterium leprae lives free in the cytoplasm in infected macrophages. to test if an m. leprae antigen released into the cytoplasm would associate with major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class ii we introduced the gene encoding the 65 kda heat-shock protein (ml65hsp) into a retroviral shuttle vector (pzipneosv(x)) and transfected the murine macrophage cell line j774g8. s1 nuclease mapping and western blot analysis of the transfected cell line (cj11) showed that specific messenger rna and ...	1992	1560752
vaccination of mice with a soluble protein fraction of mycobacterium leprae provides consistent and long-term protection against m. leprae infection.	groups of balb/c mice were vaccinated intradermally with either freund's incomplete adjuvant (fia) alone, 10(7) heat-killed mycobacterium leprae organisms in fia, or a number of fractions of m. leprae containing soluble and/or cell wall components. at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months later, vaccinated mice were challenged in the right hind footpad with 5,000 live m. leprae organisms, and vaccine protection was assessed 6 to 8 months later, at the peak of m. leprae multiplication in the negative control ...	1992	1563772
can leprosy be neutralized by year 2000?		1992	1564760
vascular derivation of granulomatous cells in different types of leprosy.		1992	1568806
prevalence of igm antibodies to phenolic glycolipid i among household contacts and controls in korea and the philippines.	phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i) is a mycobacterium leprae-specific antigen and the antibodies to the antigen may suggest an m. leprae infection. to compare the m. leprae transmission among the populations, we compared the prevalence of anti-pgl-i igm antibodies among household contacts and controls between korea and the philippines. in korea (prevalence of leprosy--0.04: 1000), the prevalence of anti-pgl-i antibodies were 4.8% among controls and 8.0% among contacts, respectively. on the other hand ...	1992	1569811
follow-up of multibacillary leprosy patients using a phenolic glycolipid-i-based elisa. do increasing elisa-values after discontinuation of treatment indicate relapse?	with the introduction of reproducible serological tests it was hoped that relapses in leprosy patients, after discontinuing treatment, could be detected before damaging reactions occurred and before the patients became infectious. the possible value of an elisa using a semisynthetic analogue of phenolic glycolipid-i to detect antibodies to this antigen in order to predict a relapse in multibacillary patients was investigated. in contrast to that reported for paucibacillary patients, this test wa ...	1992	1569812
detection of a mycobacterium leprae cell wall antigen in the urine of untreated and treated patients.	a total of 90 leprosy patients, 12 household contacts and 10 normal subjects were studied for the detection of mycobacterium leprae cell wall antigen in urine using monoclonal antibody (ml30a2 igg). in untreated multibacillary leprosy (bl-ll) the m. leprae cell wall antigen could be demonstrated in the urine of 14 (64%) patients by immunofluorescence (if) and 22 (100%) by elisa. in untreated paucibacillary leprosy (tt-bt), it could be demonstrated in 3 (11.5%) and in 13 (50%) patients by if and ...	1992	1569813
comment: 'immunological upgrading with combined immunotherapy and chemotherapy in a lepromatous leprosy patient: a case report'.		1992	1569824
specificity of igg subclass antibodies in different clinical manifestations of leprosy.	we analysed specific igg subclasses levels to mycobacterium leprae sonicate extract (mse), lipoarabinomannan b (lam) and phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i) in the sera of leprosy patients with different clinical manifestations. igg2 was found to be the predominant antibody to mse regardless of clinical manifestations, and igg1 response was mostly seen in lepromatous patients. igg3 reacted only rarely but igg4 reacted relatively more in certain clinical groups such as borderline lepromatous and leprom ...	1992	1572088
reaction of peripheral nerves to vascular and bacterial injuries.	mouse sciatic nerves were subjected to devascularization, m. leprae inoculation, and combined insult of devascularization + footpad inoculation (fpi). changes were seen in fpi nerves only after eight months, but in cases of combined insult, changes were evident in hours. both the groups showed initial loss of small myelinated fibres. no proliferation of schwann cells was in fpi nerves, but in combined insult it was maximum after two weeks. presence of m. leprae seems to be arresting schwann cell ...	1992	1573298
on structural aspects of peptidoglycan of bacterial cell wall with special attention on mycobacteria by computer modelling.	the cell wall components of mycobacteria are said to be vitally linked with their pathogenicity. peptidoglycan, one of the major cell wall component in most of the bacteria are multilayered in gram positive bacteria and it is diverse in nature for the gram positive strain rather than gram negative. the cell wall of bacteria are primary targets for many drugs and antibiotics and conformation of the major cell wall components provide invaluable information and understanding at molecular level to m ...	1992	1573299
an appraisal of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) and serum antibody competition test (sact) in leprosy.	seventy-eight untreated leprosy patients, 104 treated patients and 105 healthy contacts were tested using two serological tests, sact (serum antibody competition test based on competitive inhibition of monoclonal antibody binding to the my2a determinant of m. leprae) and elisa (measurement of igm antibodies to the neoglycoproteins d-bsa and nd-bsa representing the phenolic-glycolipid antigen of m. leprae). the controls included normal healthy individuals, patients with sputum positive pulmonary ...	1992	1573300
isolation of a dopa positive rapid growing mycobacterium from blood of a leprosy patient.	a rapid growing acid-fast organism was isolated from the blood of a borderline leprosy patient. the isolate appeared to be close to mycobacterium cheloni group of organisms but showed globi, cigar shaped bundles and was positive for dopa-oxidase. catalase, iron uptake, sodium chloride tolerance, tellurite reduction, tween 80 hydrolysis and pyridine extraction tests were also positive. the 3-days arylsulphatase test and nitrate reduction test were negative.	1992	1573305
species-specific assessment of mycobacterium leprae in skin biopsies by in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction.	conventional histopathologic diagnosis of mycobacterial infections are limited to the determination of "acid-fast bacilli". a species-specific diagnosis is thus far impossible. in addition, routine microbiologic assessments of mycobacteria suffer from the major drawback that a species-specific diagnosis is extremely time-consuming and in several cases even impossible. as mycobacterium leprae cannot be cultured in vitro, we tried to specifically target this obligate intracellular parasite by in s ...	1992	1573855
antibody to a 63 kilodalton insect protein in ankylosing spondylitis.	ankylosing spondylitis (as) is associated with antibodies to a heat shock puff on drosophila chromosomes. this observation was investigated by immunoblotting using extracts of the schneider insect cell line and hela cells, before and after heat shock. an insect protein of 63 kilodaltons (but no equivalent human protein) was recognised by 21 (46%) of 46 serum samples from patients with as, one of two patients with reiter's syndrome, four (7%) of 60 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and ...	1992	1575576
[infection and elimination of mycobacterium leprae in scid c.b.-17 mice (severe combined immunodeficiency)].	previous studies documented that t-cell deficient nude mice failed to control m. leprae infection. in the present investigation we monitored the growth of m. leprae for up to 15 months in the scid c.b.-17 mouse, a host deficient in both t and b lymphocytes. at 8 months post-infection 10(8) organisms/foot-pad were recovered from scid mice vs 5 x 10(6) in normal balb/c mice. thereafter the number of bacilli decreased rapidly in mice infected with high-dose inoculum (10(7)); however, at all doses s ...	1992	1576539
use of serum antibody and lysozyme levels for diagnosis of leprosy and tuberculosis.	active tuberculosis (tb) and leprosy are difficult to diagnose early because there are few organisms to detect and the specific immune response does not distinguish between active and inactive disease. we developed an immunoassay for lysozyme to see whether serum lysozyme levels could be used to identify individuals with clinical leprosy or tb. the immunoassay for lysozyme proved superior to standard enzyme assays that were less sensitive and reliable. the lysozyme assay was compared with assays ...	1992	1583106
heat shock protein hsp60-reactive gamma delta cells: a large, diversified t-lymphocyte subset with highly focused specificity.	previously, we detected a subset of gamma delta t cells in the newborn mouse thymus that responded to the mycobacterial heat shock protein hsp60, as well as with what seemed to be a self-antigen. all of these cells expressed v gamma 1, most often in association with v delta 6+. it was not clear, however, whether similar, mature gamma delta cells with hsp60 reactivity are common outside of the thymus, or rather, whether they are largely eliminated during development. from the data presented here, ...	1992	1584768
novel responses of human skin to intradermal recombinant granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor: langerhans cell recruitment, keratinocyte growth, and enhanced wound healing.	recombinant granulocyte/macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (rgm-csf), prepared from chinese hamster ovary (cho) cells and escherichia coli, was administered to 35 patients with the borderline and polar lepromatous forms of leprosy by the intradermal and subcutaneous routes at doses of 7.5-45.0 micrograms/d for 10 d. with each of these doses and routes, increases in the number of circulating eosinophils were noted. after the intradermal injection, the local skin sites demonstrated zones of roug ...	1992	1588289
fusidic acid is highly active against extracellular and intracellular mycobacterium leprae.	the activity of fusidic acid against mycobacterium leprae was studied in axenic medium and in bacilli residing within mouse peritoneal macrophages. activity was assessed by subsequent quantitation of bacillary radiorespirometric activity. significant inhibition in both systems was observed at 0.156 micrograms/ml, and an approximately 50% reduction in activity occurred after exposure to 1.25 to 2.5 micrograms/ml. the excellent human pharmacokinetics and in vitro activity of fusidic acid against t ...	1992	1590706
[2 infectious granulomatous diseases (leprosy and cutaneous and mucous leishmaniasis) by scintigraphic methods].	leprosy is a multiform chronic infectious granulomatous disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, that affects over 12 million people in the world. cutaneous and mucous leishmaniasis (cml) is also a chronic granulomatous infectious disease, caused by leishmania brasiliensis and transmitted to man by the mosquitoes of the phlebotominae family. it is a worldwide spread disease. we studied one case of borderline-wirchowian leprosy and 2 cases of cml with gallium-67 (ga-67) scintigraphy. ga-67 is a ra ...	1992	1596960
[immunology of leprosy. review of data from the 1980-1990 time period].	the classification used for leprosy so far distinguishes between two polar forms (pauci-bacillary and multi-bacillary), with different influences on the immune cells. the identification of specific antigens of the germ surface with monoclonal antibodies allows finer differentiation in classification, which now extends to transitional forms of clinical relevance. the current status of knowledge about immunological phenomena triggered by mycobacterium leprae is complex, and controversy is rife at ...	1992	1597366
assessment of the diagnostic value of the native pgltb1, its synthetic neoglycoconjugate pgltb0 and the sulfolipid iv antigens for the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis.	a major phenolic glycolipid (pgltb1) from mycobacterium tuberculosis, that resembles the phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) from m. leprae, and its synthetic terminal diglycosyl conjugate (pgltb0) were reported and raised the prospects of a specific serodiagnostic test for tuberculosis (tb). the diagnostic use of a sulfolipid, namely the sliv, was also reported. the objective of this investigation was to assess the relative sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of three elisas using the pgl ...	1992	1602185
immunology of a burnt-out lepromatous leprosy patient.		1992	1602187