Publications

genetic control of immune responses to the 18-kda protein of mycobacterium leprae. different th1 subsets may be involved in proliferative and delayed-type hypersensitivity responses.	in vitro and in vivo responses to the 18-kda protein of mycobacterium leprae have been analysed in different strains of mice. lymphocytes from balb/cj (h-2d), balb.b (h-2b), b10.br (h-2k), and b10.m (h-2f) mice primed with 18-kda protein yielded high t cell proliferative responses, while those from c57bl/10j (h-2b) mice yielded lower responses. both h-2 and non-h-2 genes contributed to the magnitude of responsiveness. f1 mice from high and low responder strains showed high responsiveness to the ...	1992	1623551
immune complexes and antibody levels in blisters over human leprosy skin lesions with or without erythema nodosum leprosum.	erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) is a serious complication of lepromatous leprosy, affecting skin and peripheral nerves in a large percentage of these patients, and is presumed to result from spontaneous immunologic changes. its pathogenesis is poorly understood, although histopathologic features have suggested immune complex (ic)-mediated injury. abundant circulating antibody is present but no convincing correlation has been established between circulating ic and enl. we have examined cutaneous ...	1992	1623643
cellular immune response to the cell walls of mycobacterium leprae in leprosy patients and healthy subjects exposed to leprosy.	cell walls of m. leprae consist of complex arrangements of carbohydrate, lipid, peptidoglycan and protein molecules. recently, extractable proteins of a wide range of molecular weights were identified as components of the cell wall. we have examined the cellular immune responses of nepali leprosy patients to a cell wall preparation of m. leprae enriched for these proteins. strong lymphocyte proliferative responses to the antigens were present in half of the paucibacillary leprosy patients and in ...	1992	1628419
molecular biology in diagnostic microbiology. pcr on mycobacterium leprae.	the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) has already produced several hundreds of papers. alternative procedures for diagnostic purposes based on nucleic acid detection do exist but have until now found less application. problems with the pcr are discussed. it is proposed that the diagnostic microbiology laboratory has a section devoted to pcr for the diagnosis of diseases whose etiologic agent can "almost not" be cultured such as (for flanders) mycoplasma pneumoniae, chlamydia pneumoniae, toxoplasma ...	1992	1636320
a 66-kilodalton heat shock protein of salmonella typhimurium is responsible for binding of the bacterium to intestinal mucus.	salmonella typhimurium infections have increased during the last few years. however, the interplay of virulence factors in s. typhimurium pathogenesis is still poorly understood, particularly with regard to the mechanisms and components of the bacterium which are involved in its interaction with the intestinal mucus. we have observed that s. typhimurium is aggregated by incubation with colonic mucus (guinea pig model). to quantify this phenomenon, an aggregation assay was established. by using t ...	1992	1639475
hsp70 synthesis in schwann cells in response to heat shock and infection with mycobacterium leprae.	induction of heat shock protein synthesis was monitored in murine and monkey schwann cells exposed to elevated temperatures. synthesis of the stress-inducible 70-kda heat shock protein (hsp70) was detected in both murine and primate schwann cells by metabolic labelling and by immunoblotting with a specific monoclonal antibody. hsp70 synthesis was also induced in schwann cells after infection with mycobacterium leprae and was detected from 24 h to 1 week postinfection. these results are discussed ...	1992	1639478
t-cell-mediated cytotoxicity against mycobacterium antigen-pulsed autologous macrophages in leprosy patients.	the involvement of cd4+ t lymphocytes in the defense mechanisms against intracellular pathogens is widely recognized. little information is available on the generation and specificity of the cytotoxic cells that eliminate human monocytes/macrophages infected with mycobacteria. in this work, we tested whether mononuclear cells from leprosy patients could generate cytotoxic t-cell activity against autologous macrophages pulsed with mycobacterium leprae or purified protein derivative (ppd) in a 4-h ...	1992	1639507
competency of human-derived mycobacterium leprae to use palmitic acid in the synthesis of phenolic glycolipid-i and phthiocerol dimycocerosate and to release co2 in axenic culture.	insufficient numbers of viable mycobacterium leprae have hampered metabolic studies using human-derived m. leprae. in this study, sufficient numbers of m. leprae were obtained from an untreated lepromatous patient to titrate the effects of ph on the metabolism of 14c-palmitic acid by m. leprae. catabolic metabolism (oxidation of 14c-palmitic acid and release of 14co2) was maximal when m. leprae were incubated at 33 degrees c and suspended in middlebrook 7h9, adc supplemented medium that had been ...	1992	1640777
evaluation of mycobacterium leprae particle agglutination test, using eluates of filter paper blood spots.	a comparison of the elisa test with the newly-developed mlpa test was carried out, using eluates of blood spots from filter paper for the detection of the anti-pgl-i antibody. a very good positive correlation was observed between these two tests. the concordance rate was found to be 92.6%, ranging from 71.4% to 100%. this nonconcordance was not found when freshly-collected samples were used. the mlpa test is simple and reliable. the use of eluates from blood spots collected on filter paper furth ...	1992	1640778
double-blind evaluation of bactec and buddemeyer-type radiorespirometric assays for in vitro screening of antileprosy agents.	two radiorespirometric assays, the bactec 460 and buddemeyer-type 14co2 detection systems, were evaluated in a double-blind manner for their ability to discriminate between authentic antileprosy agents and inactive compounds. freshly harvested, nude-mouse derived mycobacterium leprae were incubated in axenic media in the presence of coded test solutions prepared in a remote laboratory. activity was assessed by comparing the rate of 14co2 evolution from [1-14c]palmitic acid to controls. breaking ...	1992	1640779
the serodiagnosis of leprosy.		1992	1640792
heterogeneity of monoclonal antibody-reactive epitopes on mycobacterial 30-kilodalton-region proteins and the secreted antigen 85 complex and demonstration of antigen 85b on the mycobacterium leprae cell wall surface.	proteins of the antigen 85 complex in the 30-kda region secreted by live mycobacteria are important in the immune response against mycobacterial infections and may play an important biological role in the host-parasite interaction. in the present study, we have characterized epitopes of the 30-kda-region proteins and the antigen 85 complex by using a panel of 13 monoclonal antibodies (mabs) reacting with these antigens, 6 of which have not been described before. by using five previously characte ...	1992	1280626
recognition of mycobacterium leprae recombinant 18-kda proteins in leprosy.	three different, purified, escherichia coli-derived, recombinant preparations of the mycobacterium leprae 18k protein were compared for their immunological recognition in leprosy. the preparations tested were 18k fusion proteins containing 70% (amino acids 38-148) of the full 18k protein fused to either a short leader sequence containing six asparagine residues or to beta-galactosidase, and the full length 18k protein. all three recombinant antigens were recognized by igg antibodies which were r ...	1992	1282140
enzyme linked immunosorbent assay of a 12-kda protein of mycobacterium leprae with sera from leprosy patients.	a low molecular weight protein was obtained from a sonicate of armadillo-derived mycobacterium leprae cells and from a lambda gt11 phage lysate of escherichia coli (specifying the m. leprae 12-kda protein) by a single step of ultrafiltration. both proteins had an approximate molecular weight of about 12,000 (by sds-page) and were recognized by the m. leprae 12-kda-specific monoclonal antibody ml06 by immunoblotting. sera from 79 leprosy patients across the clinical spectrum, 17 contacts, and 12 ...	1992	1282142
analysis of circulating immune complexes from leprosy patients for mycobacterium leprae antigens.	circulating immune complexes (cics) from 31 leprosy patients (16 tuberculoid, 15 lepromatous) and 12 healthy volunteers, precipitated by 3.5% polyethylene glycol, were individually subjected to sds-page and immunoblotting using a variety of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against mycobacterium leprae. a common mycobacterial antigen of an apparent molecular size of 65 kda was identified in cics from about 40% of the patients. no correlation was observed between the positivity for this antige ...	1992	1282143
anti-peripheral nerve antibodies in leprosy patients recognize an epitope shared by the m. leprae 65 kda heat shock protein.	binding of leprosy sera to peripheral nerve from different species (mouse, guinea pig and rabbit) was evaluated by elisa. a majority of sera, whatever the clinical form of leprosy, bind to these antigens. absorption with mycobacterium bovis bcg demonstrated that these antibodies recognize cross-reactive epitopes between peripheral nerve and mycobacteria. in immunoblot analysis, both leprosy patient sera and a monoclonal antibody directed at the 65 kda heat shock protein of m. leprae were shown t ...	1992	1283301
reversal of drug resistance in mycobacterium leprae by ampicillin/sulbactam.	the multiplication of mycobacterium leprae in foot pads of experimentally-infected mice was suppressed by intramuscular administration of ampicillin combined with sulbactam or ytr-830h, two potent inhibitors of beta-lactamase in the bacteria. the antibiotic or the inhibitors by themselves were inactive. ampicillin/sulbactam also inhibited the growth of drug-resistant m. leprae which grew in the presence of rifampin or dapsone. the finding provides a new approach to treat leprosy and to overcome ...	1992	1287401
viability of acid-fast bacilli from gamma-& uv-irradiated lepromatous armadillo tissues infected with mycobacterium leprae.	gamma-irradiated splenic homogenates of armadillos infected with m. leprae proved sterile by conventional tests and media. however, on media for chemoautotrophy, these could repeatedly grow as a single type of acid-fast nocardioform bacterium like the unirradiated specimens, although with a much reduced count. in the slide culture, transition from the initial afb/coccoid bodies, to sporulating mycelia and granules in the final stage, could be observed sequentially. the gamma-irradiated tissue sp ...	1992	1291459
comparative antigenic analysis of mycobacterium avium complex (mac) isolates from aids patients.	sonicates of several mycobacterium avium complex (mac) strains isolated from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (aids) patients were characterized in order to study the prominent antigens of these strains. sonicates of 6-week-old cultures were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (sds-page) and western blotting. a major 12 kda glycoprotein antigen was observed in all the sonicates along with other proteins ranging up to 100 kda. western blotting, using the 12 kda ...	1992	1292716
significance of antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-i in leprosy diagnosis.	a gelatin particle agglutination assay for the detection of anti pgl-i antibodies in 40 clinically diagnosed and variously classified groups of leprosy cases revealed elevated pgl-i antibody titers in 85% of cases. in contrast, the slit-skin smear examination was positive in only 30% of cases. it was further observed that, out of 28 cases with bacteriological index (b.i.) zero, 22 cases (78.5%) had significant levels of pgl-i antibodies. there was no case in which the slit skin smear was positiv ...	1992	1293187
relapses in multibacillary leprosy patients after stopping treatment with rifampin-containing combined regimens. marchoux chemotherapy study group.	during the decade between the mid 1970s and the mid-1980s, 12 rifampin (rmp)-containing combined regimens were tested among lepromatous leprosy patients in the institut marchoux. the 384 patients who were seen at least once during the period beginning 12 months after completion of treatment were considered eligible for analysis of the relapse rate. by the end of may 1991, relapse, manifested by a significant increase of the bacterial index (bi) and the appearance of new lesions with a bi greater ...	1992	1299707
short-term trial of clofazimine in previously untreated lepromatous leprosy.	forty-five previously untreated lepromatous leprosy patients were allocated randomly to three groups and treated, respectively, with regimen a, standard dosage of clofazimine (clo) in multidrug therapy (mdt) regimen; regimen b, clo 600 mg once every 4 weeks; and regimen c, clo 1200 mg once every 4 weeks. the duration of the trial was 24 weeks. by the end of the trial, although a few patients in each group did not improve at all clinically, the majority of patients showed clinical amelioration bu ...	1992	1299709
suppressive effect of circulating immune complexes from leprosy patients on the lymphocyte proliferation induced by m. leprae antigens in healthy responders.	the effect of circulating immune complexes, isolated in the form of polyethylene glycol (peg) precipitates from leprosy patients, on lymphocyte proliferation was studied. the results obtained showed that peg precipitates obtained from the borderline lepromatous/lepromatous (bl/ll) types of leprosy patients and those undergoing erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) had significant suppressive effects on the lymphocyte proliferation induced by mycobacterium leprae antigens in healthy responders. the per ...	1992	1299711
use of a different buffer system in the phenolic glycolipid-i elisa.	by changing the buffer system in the phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) the sensitivity of the test was increased without altering its specificity. using a tris-hcl buffer, significant titers of > or = 1:300 were found in 53.1% of the sera in paucibacillary (pb) and 98.0% of the sera in multibacillary (mb) groups of patients. titer levels were also significantly increased. in the pb group of patients with tris-hcl, the highest titer detected was 1:1200; in th ...	1992	1299712
microtiter particle agglutination test for diagnosis of leprosy.	the results of studying the microtiter particle agglutination (mpa) test for detecting anti-mycobacterium leprae antibodies in blood sera are presented. the serodiagnostic test is based on the agglutination of colored polyacrolein latex microparticles (pamp) conjugated with 3,6-di-o-methyl-d-glucose (dmg). sera from 45 leprosy patients (ll, bl), 34 leprosy contacts, and 148 control subjects were investigated by the mpa test. a correlation between the anti-m. leprae antibodies and the bacterial l ...	1992	1299713
suitability of a skin-smear examination needle for leprosy screening by pcr.		1992	1299722
genetic vaccines against genetically infective macromolecules?		1992	1299723
inoculation of foot pads of severe combined immunodeficient mice with m. leprae.		1992	1299724
adaptation of mycobacterium psychrophilum (l) to mesophilic growth on water-soluble palmitic acid complex agar media.		1992	1299725
leprosy vaccines.		1992	1304294
evaluation of bactec 460 tb system for measurement of in vitro anti-mycobacterium leprae activity of various antimicrobials.	in vitro anti-leprosy activities of various antimicrobials were measured by using the bactec 460 tb system. the growth index reducing activities of test drugs were strong in clofazimine, krm-1648, rifabutin, clarithromycin and rifampicin; intermediate in sparfloxacin, minocycline and ofloxacin; and weak in ciprofloxacin, fleroxacin and dds. amikacin, pipemidic acid, enoxacin and norfloxacin had no such in vitro activities. there is a close correlation between in vitro and in vivo anti-m. leprae ...	1992	1308482
demonstration of pgl-i & lam-b antigens in paraffin sections of leprosy skin lesions.	an investigation on the demonstration of pgl-i and lam-b antigens in thirty-four paraffin embedded skin biopsies taken from leprosy patients who covered the whole spectrum of the disease and in four control specimens was carried out. neither the pgl-i antigen nor the lam-b antigen was demonstrated in the normal skin specimens that were used as negative control; and only the lam-b antigen appeared in the tuberculosis specimens in which the pgl-i antigen was negative. the pgl-i antigen was demonst ...	1992	1308483
venezuela results and after.		1992	1308519
gelatin particle agglutination assay to detect anti-pgl-i antibodies in leprosy patients and in household contacts: a preliminary study.	a preliminary study of anti-phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) igm antibody detection using m. leprae gelatin particle agglutination (mlpa) test kit is described. antibodies were demonstrated in 70% of our leprosy patients taking antileprosy treatment. the percentage of positivity of multibacillary cases was 86.0, whereas that of paucibacillary cases was 30.0. good correlation was found between bacteriological index and the presence of antibodies. antibodies were detected in 28% of our patients relea ...	1992	1308520
utility of gelatin particle agglutination test (mlpa) for rapid serodiagnosis of leprosy in a hyperendemic area.	the anti-pgl m. leprae specific antibodies were estimated by mlpa test in 79 patients of leprosy, 8 contacts of lepromatous cases and 10 healthy controls in a hyperendemic area. the results indicated an over all seropositivity of 50.6% in leprosy patients. three of the eight contacts and five of the controls also gave positive results. higher seropositivity rates were noted in multibacillary patients (73% in lepromatous, 53.6% in borderline, 40% each in tuberculoid and indeterminate and 10% in p ...	1992	1308521
utility of beige mouse in leprosy research.	dissemination of m. leprae to visceral organs is seen by four months onwards only in beige (c57bl/6/bgj) but not balb/c mice following intravenous or intraperitoneal infections. inoculation of the beige mouse derived m. leprae showed all the characteristics of m. leprae, including growth pattern in the foot-pads of balb/c mice. m. leprae inoculated into foot-pads of beige mice multiplied faster than those in the foot-pads of balb/c mice. the possibility of using beige mouse in chemotherapeutic s ...	1992	1308522
prevalence of colour blindness among patients with leprosy.	using ishihara test plates the prevalence of colour blindness was studied on six hundred and ninety-seven leprosy patients and two hundred and ninety-two normal healthy controls. 7.88% of male patients with tuberculoid leprosy, 12.18% of male patients with lepromatous leprosy, and 0.67% of male controls were detected to be colour blind (red-green deficiency or total colour weakness). the differences between the different groups are significant. among female patients and controls, only one leprom ...	1992	1308523
leprosy-derived chemoautotrophic nocardioform (can) bacteria closely resemble, or are identical with, mycobacterium leprae on mycolate and other lipid profiles.	on the basis of thin layer chromatography and gas-chromatography-mass spectrometric studies, the lipid profiles of all the chemoautotrophic nocardioform (can) bacteria derived from human and animal leprosy tissues appear to be identical with each other, and closest to or identical with the most probable profile of m. leprae.	1992	1308529
a murine cd4-, cd8- t cell receptor-gamma delta t lymphocyte clone specific for herpes simplex virus glycoprotein i.	the role of tcr-gamma delta t lymphocytes in immune responses is currently not well understood. tcr-gamma delta cells have a limited repertoire suggesting that tcr-gamma delta t a limited number of evolutionarily conserved ag such as nonpolymorphic mhc and heat shock proteins. tcr-gamma delta t lymphocytes appear in enhanced numbers in skin lesions produced by mycobacterium leprae and in the synovial fluid of joints affected by rheumatoid arthritis, raising the possibility that this subset of t ...	1992	1310711
diagnosis of nerve abscess in leprosy by sonography.		1992	1315363
activity of sparfloxacin against mycobacterium leprae inoculated into footpads of nude mice.	the antileprosy activity of a new quinolone, sparfloxacin, was examined in the nude mouse footpad model. by serial dosing (once a day, 5 or 6 times per week, during the 3rd-5th months postinoculation), 10 mg/kg of sparfloxacin displayed bactericidal-type activity and bacteriostatic activity was present at daily doses of 5 and 2 mg/kg. by intermittent dosing (once a day, twice weekly at daily doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg or once weekly at a daily dose of 30 mg/kg, during the 3rd-5th months postinocul ...	1992	1322480
a unique type of gaba binding by mycobacterium leprae.	neurotropism is one of the unusual properties of mycobacterium leprae. the organism contains glutamic acid decarboxylase that generates gamma-amino-butyric acid (gaba) which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. the binding of gaba by m. leprae in vitro was studied by using 3h-gaba as substrate. the bacteria had high-affinity binding sites for the amino acid. the uptake was a specific saturable process with a km of 66.7 pm, ph optimum of 7.3 and a temperature optimum of 37 degrees c. the binding di ...	1992	1323745
limited t-cell receptor beta-chain diversity of a t-helper cell type 1-like response to mycobacterium leprae.	delayed-type hypersensitivity (dth) is the standard measure of t-cell responsiveness to infectious organisms. for leprosy, the mitsuda reaction, a local immune response to cutaneous challenge with mycobacterium leprae, is considered to represent a measure of dth against the pathogen. we analyzed the diversity of the t-cell receptor beta-chain repertoire in mitsuda reactions to determine the breadth of the mycobacterial antigens involved. the polymerase chain reaction was used to compare v beta u ...	1992	1328060
t-cell receptor beta-chain gene usage in the t-cell recognition of mycobacterium leprae antigens in one tuberculoid leprosy patient.	the beta chain of the t-cell antigen receptor present on 20 t-cell clones isolated from a tuberculoid leprosy patient was studied by gene rearrangement and pcr analysis. these t-cell clones all responded to mycobacterium leprae-encoded protein antigens, and 8 of them specifically recognized peptides of the mycobacterial 65-kda heat shock polypeptide (65hsp). all t-cell clones studied were hla-dr-restricted (dr2 or -3). in the dr3-restricted group, 7 of 10 used a beta-chain variable region v beta ...	1992	1333603
adenosine triphosphate content of mycobacterium leprae by percoll buoyant density centrifugation.	thirty nine untreated patients of bacilliferous leprosy with a mean bacteriological index of 4.8 and morphological index of 1.3% formed the study group. adenosine triphosphate assay was carried out by (i) enzyme treatment method in 18 patients and (ii) percoll buoyant density gradient method in 21 patients. atp content obtained by percoll buoyant density gradient method was significantly higher than that obtained by enzyme treatment method. percoll buoyant density centrifugation for purification ...	1992	1334044
activities of various quinolone antibiotics against mycobacterium leprae in infected mice.	previously, pefloxacin and ofloxacin were found to be active against mycobacterium leprae in vitro, in experimental animals, and in clinical trials of lepromatous leprosy patients. in this study, we compared certain more recently developed fluoroquinolones (lomefloxacin, pd 124816, win 57273, temafloxacin, and sparfloxacin) with pefloxacin and ofloxacin in m. leprae-infected mice at doses of 50, 150, and 300 mg/kg given five times weekly. all seven of the fluoroquinolones studies were active aga ...	1992	1336951
bactericidal activities of single or multiple doses of various combinations of new antileprosy drugs and/or rifampin against m. leprae in mice.	the bactericidal activities against mycobacterium leprae of single or multiple doses of various combinations of new antileprosy drugs [minocycline (mino), clarithromycin (clari), ofloxacin (oflo), and sparfloxacin (spfx)] and/or rifampin (rmp) were titrated in immunocompetent mice by the proportional bactericidal method. drugs were administered by gavage at the following dosages (mg/kg) per dose: rmp 10, mino 25, clari 100, oflo 150, and spfx 50. all 15 regimens exerted significant bactericidal ...	1992	1338596
[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
leprosy: an urgent need to step up use of mdt in africa.	10-12 million people in the world have leprosy. india claims about 4 million of these cases. overall at least 20% of the cases are children. in the 1940s, dapsone was the only drug used to treat leprosy. by the early 1970s, dapsone did not perform as expected and mycobacterium leprae were beginning to exhibit resistance to dapsone. in 1982, who published results of its study which recommended fixed and relatively short duration regimens of multiple drug therapy (mdt) for all people wi ...	1992	12285084
long-lasting t-cell reactivity to mycobacterium leprae antigens in human volunteers vaccinated with killed m. leprae.	a trial with a candidate anti-leprosy vaccine based on killed mycobacterium leprae was started in norway in 1983 to evaluate its toxicity and efficacy to induce cell-mediated immunity (cmi) in bcg-vaccinated healthy volunteers. the vaccinated subjects were found to be free of unacceptable side-effects and their t cells showed elevated proliferative response to m. leprae up to 1 year postvaccination. when tested in 1991, 8 years after vaccination, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from the same ...	1993	7504379
identification of human t cell epitopes in the mycobacterium leprae heat shock protein 70-kd antigen.	in a number of pathogens, heat shock proteins (hsp) stimulate humoral and cellular immune responses despite significant sequence identity with host hsp. the 70-kd hsp of mycobacterium leprae, which shares 47% identity with human hsp70 at the protein level, elicited a t cell response in most myco. bovis (bacille calmette-guérin (bcg)) vaccinees as well as leprosy and tuberculosis patients and their contacts. in order to locate t cell epitopes, dna fragments encoding portions of the 70-kd hsp were ...	1993	7504601
contrasting evolutionary rates in the duplicate chaperonin genes of mycobacterium tuberculosis and m. leprae.	a phylogenetic analysis of chaperonin (heat shock protein 60) sequences from prokaryotes and eukaryotes indicated that a single gene duplication event in the common ancestor of mycobacterium tuberculosis, m. leprae, and streptomyces albus gave rise to the duplicate chaperonin genes found in these species (designated hsp65 and groel in the mycobacterial species). comparison of rates of synonymous and nonsynonymous nucleotide substitution in different gene regions suggested that the 5' end of the ...	1993	7506344
[several aspects of the bacteriology of mycobacterium leprae].		1993	7800898
the use of recombinant human interleukin-2 in treating infectious diseases.	data from animal models indicate that interleukin-2 is potentially valuable in the treatment of a variety of infectious diseases of viral, fungal, protozoal, bacterial, and mycobacterial origin. the role of interleukin-2 in resistance to infection with human immunodeficiency virus or mycobacterium leprae (the causative agent of leprosy) has recently been studied in detail. data from animal models and clinical trials indicate that relatively low doses of interleukin-2 effectively stabilize or rev ...	1993	7764471
analysis of b-cell epitopes in the variable c-terminal region of the mycobacterium leprae 70-kilodalton heat shock protein.	the c-terminal region of the mycobacterium leprae 70-kda heat-shock protein is the major target for the humoral immune response to this protein and contains m. leprae-specific sequences. to examine b-cell responses to this region more closely, we constructed and expressed a recombinant fragment of the m. leprae p70 gene that encodes the c-terminal 142 residues (c-142) and synthesized a series of 10 overlapping peptides to encompass this region. the affinities of three monoclonal antibodies (mabs ...	1993	7678097
major histocompatibility complex non-restricted presentation to cd4+ t lymphocytes of mycobacterium leprae heat-shock protein 65 antigen by macrophages transfected with the mycobacterial gene.	when the immunodominant 65,000 mw heat-shock protein of mycobacterium leprae (ml65hsp) was expressed from the transfected mycobacterial gene in the mouse macrophage cell line j774.g8, the antigen was recognized by specifically sensitized cd4+ splenocytes in association with major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class ii and cd4. inhibition by monensin, leupeptin and chloroquine but not brefeldin a indicated dependence of presentation upon endosomal antigen processing. although direct access of ...	1993	7679662
cloning and sequencing of the gene for alpha antigen from mycobacterium avium and mapping of b-cell epitopes.	the complete nucleotide sequence of alpha antigen secreted from mycobacterium avium (a-alpha) was determined. the gene encodes 330 amino acids, including 40 amino acids for the signal peptide, followed by 290 amino acids for the mature protein with a molecular mass of 30,811 da. this is the first sequence of a-alpha. comparisons between a-alpha and alpha antigens of mycobacterium leprae, mycobacterium bovis bcg, and mycobacterium kansasii showed highly homologous regions which suggested a conser ...	1993	7681039
schwann cells are able to present exogenous mycobacterial hsp70 to antigen-specific t lymphocytes.	peripheral nerves are frequently damaged during infection with mycobacterium leprae. although schwann cells are host for this obligate intracellular parasite, the mechanisms of immunopathology are unresolved. this study examines the ability of lewis rat schwann cells to present an exogenous mycobacterium leprae protein, the heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), to antigen-specific t lymphocytes isolated from the lymph nodes of immunised rats. secondary reactivation of hsp70-specific t lymphocytes occur ...	1993	7681446
vertical split--a phenomenon observed in leprosy cultures.		1993	7681862
serological response of leprosy patients to mycobacterium leprae specific and mycobacteria specific antigens: possibility of using these assays in combinations.	the serological response of 147 leprosy patients to 3 mycobacterial antigens, pgl-i, 35 kda (mycobacterium leprae-specific) and lam (which is a common mycobacterial antigen) were analysed. a stronger serological response was seen amongst the mb patients than the pb patients in all the assays. the 3 antibody levels correlated positively with each other in both mb and pb cases. an overlap of seropositivity was seen between anti-pgl-i and anti-lam (p > 0.05). a progressive increase in seropositivit ...	1993	7681925
the mycobacterial secreted antigen 85 complex possesses epitopes that are differentially expressed in human leprosy lesions and mycobacterium leprae-infected armadillo tissues.	the granulomatous skin lesions in leprosy are thought to be initiated by the immune response to certain antigens of the causative agent, mycobacterium leprae. the antigen 85 complex is one of the major targets in the immune response to m. leprae infection. in the present study, a panel of previously characterized monoclonal antibodies (mabs) (3a8, rb2, a4g4, a2h11, pe12, and a3c12) reacting with different epitopes of the 85 complex proteins of mycobacterium tuberculosis and m. leprae was employe ...	1993	7682995
restricted t cell receptor expression by human t cell clones specific for mycobacterial 65-kda heat-shock protein: selective in vivo expansion of t cells bearing defined receptors.	we have examined the t cell receptor (tcr) expression of clones specific for epitopes of mycobacterial 65-kda heat-shock protein (hsp65) in the context of two different hla molecules, and used this system as a model to assess the selection of t cells responsive to this antigen in vivo. dr3-restricted clones were raised from both the synovial fluid (sf) and peripheral blood (pb) of a patient with reactive arthritis in three separate cloning events. five of five sf-derived clones tested expressed ...	1993	7684683
the 65-kda stress protein: is it related to the tumor specific antigen?		1993	7685737
identification of t cell stimulatory epitopes from the 18 kda protein of mycobacterium leprae.	we have used different mouse strains to examine in vivo and in vitro responses to the 18 kda protein of mycobacterium leprae, which appears to be strongly immunogenic in both mice and humans. b and t cell stimulatory epitopes recognised by different strains of mice have been mapped using overlapping peptides that span the entire 18 kda protein. previous work established that immunization of mice with the 18 kda protein results in specific antibody production to common b cell epitopes and immuniz ...	1993	7688563
recognition of mycobacterium leprae antigens with antibodies present in sera from patients with lepromatous leprosy.	a great diversity of antigens from mycobacterium leprae have been described. one practical approach should be to utilize them as markers to indicate when a household contact is at risk of becoming infected and then moving to an active form of leprosy. for this purpose, sonic extracts of m. leprae were fractionated in 10% sds-page under reducing conditions. the fractionated proteins were then transferred to nitrocellulose sheets and incubated with sera from lepromatous leprosy cases, their contac ...	1993	7690388
detection of mycobacterium leprae dna in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples from multibacillary and paucibacillary leprosy patients by polymerase chain reaction.	diagnosis of paucibacillary leprosy is often difficult. a method that could confirm the diagnosis is the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) of m. leprae dna. this reaction was applied to biopsied tissues of leprotic patients to determine the suitability and sensitivity of the reaction.	1993	7693602
an rflp map for 2q33-q37 from multicase mycobacterial and leishmanial disease families: no evidence for an lsh/ity/bcg gene homologue influencing susceptibility to leprosy.	the mycobacterial diseases leprosy and tuberculosis (tb) and the leishmaniases are characterized by a wide spectrum of disease phenotypes, and by the fact that the majority of individuals exposed to the causative organisms mycobacterium leprae, m. tuberculosis and leishmania sp. become infected but do not present with clinical disease. in order to determine whether a human homologue to the murine macrophage resistance gene lsh/ity/bcg influences susceptibility to human disease, multicase familie ...	1993	7910002
14th international leprosy congress pre-congress workshops, august 1993, orlando (usa).		1993	7910189
a mycobacterium leprae-specific gene encoding an immunologically recognized 45 kda protein.	by screening a mycobacterium leprae lambda gt11 expression library with a serum from an ethiopian lepromatous leprosy (ll) patient a clone was isolated (ll4) belonging to hybridization group iii of a panel of previously isolated m. leprae clones. members of this hybridization group encode a serologically recognized 45 kda protein. the complete dna sequences of the partially overlapping clones ll4 and l1 (hybridization group iii) are presented and these revealed the presence of an open reading fr ...	1993	7934845
construction and use of integrative vectors to express foreign genes in mycobacteria.	we have constructed a mycobacterial integrative vector by placing two copies of the insertion sequence is900 flanking a kanamycin-resistance gene into a 'suicide' vector unable to replicate in mycobacteria. the mycobacterium leprae gene encoding the m. leprae 18 kda protein was cloned between the two copies of is900 to provide expression signals. constructs were introduced into mycobacterium species smegmatis, vaccae and bovis bcg by electroporation and selection for kanamycin resistance. the ex ...	1993	7934874
persistent misconceptions in leprosy research.		1993	8043095
class-specific immunoglobulins and antibodies to mycobacterial sonicates and autoantigens in leprosy patients and contacts.	a comprehensive analysis of the humoral immune response in leprosy patients and contacts was undertaken. class-specific antibodies to four mycobacterial sonicates, three autoantigens and three haptens were estimated by elisa. it was found that igg levels varied more extensively than igm or iga and that total serum igg was significantly higher in lepromatous bacterial index positive (ll+ve) and negative ll-ve) leprosy patients than in tuberculoid (tt/bt) patients and controls. the high levels of ...	1993	8015417
[mycobacterium leprae: behavior in the adipocyte undergoing differentiation].	we have investigated the behaviour of m. leprae in murine preadipocyte cells (clone ob17) undergoing the adipose cell conversion process in vitro. actively differentiating ob17 cells were infected with m. leprae. the morphological index (mi) of the acid-fast bacteria (afb) present at day 12 and day 25 after infection was compared to the mi of the afb inoculated. an increase of the mi was consistently observed. this increase is suppressed by rifampicin. due to important cell loss, an increase of ...	1993	8087614
leprosy vaccine debate in india re-ignited.		1993	8100944
use of polymerase chain reaction to assess efficacy of leprosy chemotherapy.	the assessment of chemotherapy efficacy in leprosy is difficult, since the only reliable method for determining whether the causative organism, mycobacterium leprae, is viable depends on its growth in mouse foot pads. in an attempt to replace this expensive, time-consuming test, methods based on the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) have been developed. these methods depend on detection of dna, which is more susceptible to degradation on cell death than are other cell components, so should be a mo ...	1993	8101301
leprosy and arthropods.		1993	8102161
mycobacteria induce cd4+ t cells that are cytotoxic and display th1-like cytokine secretion profile: heterogeneity in cytotoxic activity and cytokine secretion levels.	protective immunity against mycobacteria is dependent on antigen-specific t cells. current evidence suggests that not only helper t cells that activate infected macrophages but also cytotoxic t cells (ctl) that lyse infected macrophages are involved in protection. mycobacterium-specific cd4+ ctl are readily detectable among primary peripheral t cells but what proportion of cd4+ t cells display cytotoxic activity is not known. whether the cytotoxic cd4+ t cells are identical to or distinct from t ...	1993	8103743
polymerase chain reaction and assessment of leprosy chemotherapy.		1993	8105297
comment: persistence of mycobacterium leprae in the peripheral nerves of multidrug-treated leprosy patients.		1993	8110236
the molecular biology of mycobacterium leprae.		1993	8127214
serum lactoferrin in lepromatous leprosy patients.	the serum concentrations of lactoferrin were determined by competitive enzyme immunoassay in the sera of 38 lepromatous leprosy patients and 16 healthy volunteers. of the 38 lepromatous patients, 25 were without any sign of reactions while 13 were suffering from enl type of reactions. the lactoferrin levels, in both types of patients, were observed to be significantly higher (p < 0.01 and < 0.001, respectively) than in that of healthy volunteers. the rise in lactoferrin level in reactive patient ...	1993	8127215
loss of viability of mycobacterium leprae isolated from nasal secretions of lepromatous leprosy patients following daily rifampicin and dds therapy.	excreta from blowing their noses was collected from 4 previously untreated multibacillary (ll) patients in the alert hospital, immediately before and during daily treatment with 600 mg rifampicin and 100 mg dapsone (dds). the mycobacterium leprae recovered from the nasal secretions were enumerated and inoculated into the footpads of normal mice. bacilli recovered from 2 of the patients failed to infect mice after 1 day's treatment, and all infectivity of the bacilli from the other 2 patients was ...	1993	8127217
transport of amino-acids across renal brush border membrane vesicles in mycobacterium leprae infected swiss albino mice--effect of convit vaccine.	brush border membrane vesicles prepared from kidneys of mycobacterium leprae infected (non-vaccinated) and vaccinated-infected swiss albino mice were used to assess the effect of convit's combined vaccine (bcg + m. leprae) on amino acid transport activity across the tubular basement membrane. the protective effect of convit's vaccine was more pronounced with respect to the uptake of l-alanine than l-aspartate. uptake of l-lysine showed no significant difference in the different groups. footpad c ...	1993	8127218
the karonga prevention trial: a leprosy and tuberculosis vaccine trial in northern malaŵi. i. methods of the vaccination phase.	in this report the methods of the karonga prevention trial, a double-blind leprosy and tuberculosis vaccine trial in karonga district, northern malaŵi, are described in detail. during a total population house-to-house survey, which lasted from november 1985 until august 1989, 121,008 people (57,892 males and 63,116 females) were vaccinated. a further 5835 people refused vaccination and 5757 were ineligible for vaccination, 2652 of them because they had a history or signs of leprosy, or because t ...	1993	8127221
identification of the leprosy bacillus and related mycobacteria by analysis of mycocerosate profiles.	members of the phthiocerol dimycocerosate family of waxes were extracted from mycobacterium bovis bcg, mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium kansasii, mycobacterium marinum, mycobacterium ulcerans and a skin biopsy from a leprosy patient. the waxes were degraded by alkaline hydrolysis and the mycocerosic acids converted to pentafluorobenzyl ester. profiles of the esters, recorded using electron-capture gas-chromatography, gave characteristic profiles for the mycocerosates from m. leprae but ...	1993	8129476
low predictive value of pgl-i serology for the early diagnosis of leprosy in family contacts: results of a 10-year prospective field study in french polynesia.	in 1983, a cohort study to follow up the family contacts of leprosy cases was implemented in french polynesia to assess the usefulness and applicability of phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) serology in a leprosy control program. a total of 1201 contacts (666 females, 535 males) have been included in the study. the igm anti-pgl-i seroprevalence determined on the initial sera was 17%. it was significantly higher among females than males (20% vs 15%, p = 0.02). from 1983 to 1992, 4 out of 204 (2%) anti ...	1993	8151183
sensitization potential and reactogenicity of varying doses of bcg plus killed mycobacterium leprae: an extended study.	this study is an extension of a previous study on an antileprosy combination vaccine of bcg plus killed mycobacterium leprae (kml) regarding its sensitization potential and reactogenicity. the study was extended to see if by reducing the dose of bcg in the combination vaccine the incidence of suppurative adenitis could be reduced without a significant reduction in the level of postvaccination skin-test responses. the study included 860 individuals, and three preparations of the combination vacci ...	1993	8151187
serological response in leprosy and tuberculosis patients to the 18-kda antigen of mycobacterium leprae and antigen 85b of mycobacterium bovis bcg.	two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (elisas) for the detection of leprosy antibodies were developed. these assays were based on the recombinant 18-kda protein of mycobacterium leprae and the 85b antigen of m. bovis. sera from leprosy and tuberculosis patients were analyzed, and a phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) elisa was used as a reference test. the 18-kda elisa reached a sensitivity of 70% on lepromatous leprosy sera. the corresponding results for the 85b and the pgl-i elisas were 93% and 96% ...	1993	8151188
a simple and rapid technique for the detection of rifampin resistance in mycobacterium leprae.	the rifampin resistance of mycobacterium leprae is due to missense mutations in the rpob gene encoding the beta-subunit of the essential enzyme rna polymerase. a rapid and very simple method has been developed to detect rifampin resistance in small numbers of m. leprae present in biopsies. it involves polymerase chain reaction amplification of a defined region of the rpob gene followed by single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis (pcr-sscp). the reliability of the method has been tested ...	1993	8151192
activity of sparfloxacin against mycobacterium leprae measured by the proportional bactericidal test.	the activity of 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg sparfloxacin was measured against mycobacterium leprae in normal (immunocompetent) mouse foot pads by the proportional bactericidal test. this was compared with the action of 25, 50, and 150 mg/kg ofloxacin by the same method. sparfloxacin, at both concentrations, was found to be strongly bactericidal by this method, comparable to 150 mg/kg ofloxacin.	1993	8151193
differential production of interleukin 1 (il-1), il-6, tumor necrosis factor, and il-1 receptor antagonist by human monocytes stimulated with mycobacterium leprae and m. bovis bcg.	human blood monocytes cultured in various serum conditions were stimulated with mycobacterium leprae or m. bovis bcg and their cytokine-inducing abilities were compared. bcg, either live or killed, induced production of interleukin 1 (il-1), il-6, tumor necrosis factor (tnf), and il-1 receptor antagonist (il-1ra). live bcg at a lower bacterial number was more potent than killed bcg in the induction of il-6 and tnf. in contrast to bcg, killed m. leprae induced few cytokines except for il-1ra. sim ...	1993	8151194
lack of response to who/mdt; a case report.		1993	8151198
a transposon in hansen's bacillus?		1993	8161372
nature of peritoneal macrophages from dcc immunized mice.	peritoneal macrophages from mice immunized with the delipidified cell component (dcc) of mycobacterium leprae showed changes in various parameters such as increased protein synthesis, levels of hydrolytic enzyme and augmented phagocytic ability indicating activation of the cells. furthermore, the surface structure of the cells were quite different from that of the macrophages of normal mice. these observations indicate that the peritoneal macrophages have been activated to phagocytose and kill m ...	1993	8182287