Publications

nasal carriage of mycobacterium leprae dna in healthy individuals in lega robi village, ethiopia.	the number of registered leprosy patients world-wide has decreased dramatically after extensive application of who recommended multiple drug therapy (mdt). the annual number of new cases has, however, been almost unchanged in several populations, indicating that the infection is still present at community level. nasal carriage of mycobacterium leprae dna was studied in lega robi village in ethiopia. mdt had been applied for more than ten years, and 718 residents over 5 years old were eligible fo ...	2003	14596524
[a case of paucibacillary leprosy].	we report a case of leprosy. a 31-old-phillippine female present with 5 month history of an erythematous plaqe on her right neck. examination showed 4 erythematous plaques with her. a histological examination of the skin lesion of hir thigh revealed granulomas around nerve and skin appendages which consist of lymphocytes, epidermoid cells and giant cells. although no acid fast bacilli were not demonstrated by skin biopsy with ziehl-neelsen staining, the mycobacterium leprae-specific dna was dete ...	2003	14598636
[a case suspected multibacillary leprosy].	the presence of acid-fast bacilli in the lesion and its positive culture usually provide the diagnosis in cutaneous mycobacteriosis. but in diagnosis of leprosy, characteristic clinico-histopathological findings are so important as the demonstration of the organism, because of the failure to grow mycobacterium leprae in vitro. it is classified in various forms along a spectrum of infectious and immunological symptoms supported by the pathogen-host relationship. the patient was a japanese woman 6 ...	2003	14598642
viability and drug susceptibility testing of m. leprae using mouse footpad in 37 relapse cases of leprosy.	mycobacteria leprae isolates obtained from 37 referral relapse cases of leprosy (37 skin and 10 nerve biopsy samples) received during the years 1994-2001, were tested for viability and drug sensitivity in the mouse footpad. a significant m. leprae yield in the footpads of control mice was obtained, with 32/47 (68%) isolates (from 26 cases) thus confirming viability. of the 28 isolates successfully drug tested, 6 (21%) were resistant to one or more drugs. all except one, were multidrug treated ca ...	2003	14608816
nodular leprosy of childhood and tuberculoid leprosy: a comparative, morphologic, immunopathologic and quantitative study of skin tissue reaction.	nodular leprosy of childhood (nl) is a benign clinical variant of tuberculoid leprosy that affects breast-feeding infants and children that remained in a highly infected environment. the lesions resolve with complete healing and nl has been considered a manifestation of allergy and congenital immunity to mycobacteria leprae. we studied the tissue reaction, mycobacterial antigen frequency, and the lymphocyte subsets (cd45ro+, cd4+, cd8+, b, nk), dendritic cells (epidermal cd1a+ cells and s100+ de ...	2003	14608817
"relatively spared zones" in leprosy: a clinicopathological study of 500 patients.	in this study, clinically all forms of lesions like macules, plaques, and nodules were found in all the "relatively spared zones," except groins. histopathology confirmed that the disease process was established and the acid-fast bacilli were not present as a part of bacteremic settlement. hence, it appears that practically no area on the surface of skin is immune to invasion by m. leprae. however, as the incidence of lesions and afb in these regions is relatively less, especially over axilla an ...	2003	14608818
electron microscope appearance of lepromatous footpads of nude mice [corrected].	footpad lesions of 3 nude mice infected by mycobacterium leprae were studied at 9, 12, and 14 months after inoculation with light and electron microscope. the lesions were somewhat similar to those found in nodules in polar lepromatous leprosy. striated muscles rather than nerves were the preferred site of the growth of m. leprae. yet, m. leprae were identified in schwann cells and endothelial cells, singly and in clumps. m. leprae filled macrophages, and free m. leprae were found in large numbe ...	2003	14608819
a second case of multidrug-resistant mycobacterium leprae isolated from a japanese patient with relapsed lepromatous leprosy.	emergence of drug resistant strains of mycobacterium leprae was reported soon after the introduction of dapsone (diamino-diphenyl sulphone, dds) for leprosy treatment (6, 10, 11). three cases of multidrug-resistant strains of m. leprae have been reported recently (2, 8, 9, 13). in order to prevent multiple drug resistant strains of m. leprae from developing, current leprosy control strategies are based on early detection of cases and treatment with multidrug therapy (mdt) as recommended by the w ...	2003	14608820
lepromatous leprosy in a heart transplant recipient.	northern louisiana is not an area for indigenous cases of leprosy. limited data are available on the occurrence of leprosy in organ transplant recipients. no cases have been reported in heart transplant recipients. mr j.r. is a 68-year-old man from shreveport, louisiana. he underwent orthotopic heart transplantation in march 1996. he presented in march 2000 with a maculopapular skin rash and intermittent hand swelling for 5 months. he also complained of intermittent burning of his feet for a yea ...	2003	14629293
lepromatous phlebitis of the external jugular vein.	mycobacterium leprae (m leprae), the causative agent of hansen's disease, is endemic in many areas of asia, sub-saharan africa, south and central america, the pacific islands, and the philippines. the spectrum of clinical disease is dependent on the patient's cell-mediated immunity and might range from localized anesthetic patches or plaques to disseminated disease. if undiagnosed, progression with damage to the involved sensory and motor nerves might occur. lepromatous vasculitis occurs most co ...	2003	14639414
[hansen's disease in the laboratory].	a physical doctor with a phd in pathology, euzenir nunes sarno studies the immunology factors of hansen's disease, one of the oldest chronic infections and that is an exclusively human disease. staff member of an ambulatory that has become a reference on the disease in brazil with 220 to 250 new patients per year, euzenir emphasizes that the fact one cannot cultivate mycobacterium leprae brings about some everlasting questions in relation to the transmission of and the sensitivity to the disease ...	2003	14650417
leprosy.		2003	15035038
eureka moments.		2003	14725195
a retrospective study of clinico-histopathological correlation in leprosy.	leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae and is characterized by well-recognized pathological changes. but there are various disagreement in clinical type and histological finding of leprosy. we observed highest parity in ll and tt group followed by histoid, bt, bl, bb, & indeterminate respectively. there was 10% minor disagreement (difference of one group) and 5% major disagreement (difference of two or more group). non-specific histological finding was present in ...	2003	15027718
leprosy.		2003	15555126
[histoid leprosy with erythema nodosum leprosum].	histoid leprosy is a particular variant of lepromatous leprosy presenting as cutaneous or subcutaneous nodular and/or plaque-like lesions arising form apparently normal skin. it is characterized histologically by spindle-shaped histiocytes in interlacing bundles and whorls, containing numerous intact and rod-shaped mycobacterium leprae. it can occur de novo or secondary in patients treated for a long course by dapsone alone. we describe a case of lepromatous leprosy treated according to the nati ...	2003	15040700
antibodies to diverse lipids in the serum of patients with clinically cured leprosy and tuberculosis.	in this study we looked for the presence of antibodies to cardiolipin, cerebrosides, and whole lipids extracted from m. leprae, m. tuberculosis and m. habana, in the serum of patients with clinically cured lepromatous leprosy (sixteen) or tuberculosis (sixteen), 8 to 12 months after arresting the corresponding multi-drug therapy (mdt). compared to healthy controls (sixteen), both leprosy and tuberculosis ex-patients had still significant levels of antibodies to the three mycobacterial lipids but ...	2003	15040701
pattern of bacillary clearance in multibacillary leprosy patients with multidrug therapy.	the bacteriological index (bi) of the skin smears is traditionally one of the important parameters of assessment of severity and of progress of leprosy under multidrug therapy. the present study reports on bi clearance among 578 multibacillary treated leprosy patients and the factors that influence this clearance. the patients were treated till smear negativity or for 2 years fixed duration and their skin smears periodically examined every 6 to 12 months till negativity (and even afterwards). we ...	2003	15040703
a study of relapse after mdt in a district in west bengal, india.	a study was undertaken to estimate the magnitude of the problem of relapse and to identify factors responsible for relapse in leprosy units that were delivering mdt in purulia district of west bengal. from records patients were classified as "relapse" or "not relapse". "not relapse" patients were selected by simple random sampling from the surveillance register and were matched according to age, sex, and the leprosy control unit. 128 cases ("relapse") and 128 controls ("not relapse") were interv ...	2003	15253389
is crohn's disease caused by a mycobacterium? comparisons with leprosy, tuberculosis, and johne's disease.	although crohn's disease is considered to be autoimmune in origin, there is increasing evidence that it may have an infectious cause. the most plausible candidate is mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (map). intriguingly, koch's postulates may have been fulfilled for map and crohn's disease, even though they still have not been met for mycobacterium leprae and leprosy. in animals map causes johne's disease, a chronic wasting intestinal diarrhoeal disease evocative of crohn's disease ...	2003	12901893
degradation process of mycobacterium leprae cells in infected tissue examined by the freeze-substitution method in electron microscopy.	mycobacterium leprae cells (strain thai-53) harvested from infected mouse foot pads were examined by electron microscopy using the freeze-substitution technique. the population of m. leprae cells from the infected tissue consisted of a large number of degraded cells and a few normal cells. these thin sectioned cell profiles could be categorized into four groups depending on the alteration of the membrane structures, and the degradation process is considered to occur in stages, namely from stages ...	2003	12906098
[leprosy in brazil].	leprosy or hansen's disease is a chronic infectious disease caused by the mycobacterium leprae. the skin and nervous manifestations of the disease present a singular clinical picture that is easily recognized. after india, brazil still is the second country with the greatest number of cases in the world. around 94% of the known cases and 94% of the new cases reported in america, come from brazil. the disease presents itself in two well-defined stable and opposite poles (lepromatous and tuberculo ...	2003	12908039
cured tuberculoid patients have a greater life expectancy than cured lepromatous patients in japan.	leprosy patients lack specific cellular immunity against mycobacterium leprae, but other immunological functions are thought to be preserved. however, in a leprosy sanatorium in south japan between 1982 and 2000, we found that the average age at death of cured lepromatous leprosy patients was about 5 yrs younger than that of cured tuberculoid patients; [male/lepromatous, 76.0 +/- 10.0 yrs old vs. male/tuberculoid, 79.7 +/- 9.4 yrs old, p = 0.026], and [female/lepromatous, 78.0 +/- 10.5 vs. femal ...	2003	12914133
epidemiology of leprosy. molecular, biological, and immunological approach.	leprosy is an infectious disease for which humans are considered the only source of infection. the major hindrance in leprosy control and thus in reaching the elimination goal is that numerous leprosy cases remain undetected for a long time. many of these patients are a continuous source of infection and, and hence perpetuate transmission. the goal of the world health organization (who) is to eliminate leprosy as a public problem by the year 2000; that is, to reach as a global prevalence of <1 p ...	2003	12916799
elimination of leprosy and its consequences for research.		2003	12916801
[ziehl-neelsen-victoria blue-iodine green compound staining method showing leprotic bacillus].	to compare compound staining methods showing leprotic bacillus, elastic fibre and cell nucleus etc. in skin biopsy tissue.	2003	12920817
[the painful multiple mononeuropathy of acute onset in the left arm which was diagnosed as leprous neuropathy].	a 31-year-old man from myanmar with leprous neuropathy was reported. the progress of the disease was subacute but the painful symptom at the time of the onset was acute. multiple mononeuropathy was diagnosed by the biopsy findings of the left superficial radial nerve. he was admitted to our hospital with the complaint of the weakness of his left hand and fingers which were very painful and got worse in several weeks. motor palsy was observed in his left ulnar, median, and radial nerves, and ther ...	2003	12931632
american cutaneous leishmaniasis, lepromatous leprosy, and pulmonary tuberculosis coinfection with downregulation of the t-helper 1 cell response.	cutaneous leishmaniasis, leprosy, and tuberculosis are caused by intracellular pathogens whose development depends on impaired cell-mediated immunity. we report an exceptional triple association of american cutaneous leishmaniasis, lepromatous leprosy, and pulmonary tuberculosis in a man with no recognized immunodeficiency. normal immunological assessment of the interferon-gamma pathway does not support the hypothesis of a genetic defect in any of the genes involved in the t helper (th)-1 cytoki ...	2003	12942392
mycobacterium leprae binds to a major human peripheral nerve glycoprotein myelin p zero (p0).	we have previously shown that a major phosphorylated 25-kda glycoprotein of the human peripheral nerve binds to mycobacterium leprae. in the present study, we confirm that the 25-kda glycoprotein of the human peripheral nerve is myelin p zero (p0) by immunoprecipitation and western blot experiments using monoclonal antibodies to myelin p0. immunohistochemical studies on human nerve using these antibodies to myelin p0 exhibited a strong immunoreactivity to the myelin and schwann cells. myelin p0 ...	2003	12945534
natural and acquired macrolide resistance in mycobacteria.	the genus mycobacterium contains two of the most important human pathogens, mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae, the etiologic agents of tuberculosis and leprosy, respectively. other mycobacteria are mostly saprophytic organisms, living in soil and water, but some of them can cause opportunistic infections. the increasing incidence of tuberculosis as well as infections with non-tuberculous mycobacteria (ntm) in aids patients has renewed interest in molecular mechanisms of drug re ...	2002	12570741
advances in the diagnosis and treatment of leprosy.	leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae that mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves. over recent years, many important advances have been made in developing molecular diagnostics, in identifying highly effective drugs and designing multidrug regimens for treatment, and in unravelling the genomic structure and functions of the leprosy bacillus. using the new information about specific sequences of m. leprae, several gene probes and gene amplification systems ...	2002	14585155
[eradication of leprosy and public health. vaccination and multidrug therapy].	leprosy is a disease, which still affects large populations in the developing countries particularly in africa, asia and latin america. for the last 15 years significant advances have been made towards leprosy elimination. the most effective strategy for leprosy control is an early identification of cases and an effective treatment with multidrug therapy (mdt). the vaccination against leprosy plays only an additional role. there are two possible approaches to develop vaccine against leprosy. one ...	2002	12666583
leprosy.		2002	12603909
heat shock protein micro-encapsulation as a double tool for the improvement of new generation vaccines.	the modern vaccinology encompasses the recombinant dna technology, protein and carbohydrate chemistry to obtain safe molecularly defined vaccines. nevertheless most of the vaccines are poorly immunogenic because a large number of antigens are membrane proteins and consequently they are not present in their active conformation in the vaccine. others are not as potent because they contain only b epitopes and therefore, cannot stimulate cellular memory. we have been studying the characteristics of ...	2002	12604035
[the mycobacterium leprae genome: from sequence analysis to therapeutic implications].	the genome of mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, was analyzed by rapid sequencing of cosmids and plasmids prepared from dna isolated from one patient's strain. results showed that the bacillus possesses a single circular chromosome that differs from other known mycobacterium chromosomes with regard to size (3.2 mb) and g + c content (57.8%). computer analysis demonstrated that only half of the sequence contains protein-coding genes. the other half contains pseudogenes and non- ...	2002	12616936
expression of foreign genes in mycobacterium bovis bcg strains using different promoters reveals instability of the hsp60 promoter for expression of foreign genes in mycobacterium bovis bcg strains.	optimization of bcg as a vehicle for live recombinant vaccines requires improved strategies for stable antigen expression.	2002	12623271
drug resistant-mycobacterium leprae--results of mouse footpad studies from a laboratory in south india.	out of 265 biopsies of leprosy patients received at the experimental pathology laboratory of schieffelin leprosy research and training centre from 1987 to 1997 for evaluating resistant strains of m. leprae, using the mouse footpad technique, 49 showed resistant strains of m leprae to varying concentrations of dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine. 23 (47%) of these were from a control area. with 369 skin-smear positive multibacillary (mb) patients as the risk group (denominator), 23 (6.23%) were r ...	2002	12624978
leprosy bug provides clues to early nerve degeneration.		2002	12549849
a traveler's chronic rash.		2002	12439822
a polymorphism in the toll-like receptor 2 is associated with il-12 production from monocyte in lepromatous leprosy.	toll-like receptor 2 (tlr2) is critical in the immune response to mycobacterial infections, and the mutations in the tlr2 have been shown to confer the susceptibility to infection with mycobacteria. we previously reported the detection of tlr2 arg677trp mutation in lepromatous leprosy. here, the events triggered by tlr2 in response to cell lysate of mycobacterium leprae(mll), the causative agent of leprosy, were investigated. upon stimulation with mll, monocytes produced tnf-alpha and interleuki ...	2002	12445799
to smear or not to smear?		2002	12449885
drug susceptibility of mycobacterium leprae: a retrospective analysis of mouse footpad inoculation results from 1983 to 1997.	we analysed the results of mouse foot pad (mfp) tests performed between 1983 and 1997 in our laboratory for the cases referred with clinical suspicion of relapse/drug resistance. a total of 214 cases, with clinical suspicion of relapse/drug resistance were investigated for susceptibility to the drugs of mdt by mfp inoculation. among 96 inoculations that showed conclusive results, 81 (84%) were fully sensitive to dapsone, suggesting that most of the clinically suspected relapse is due to drug sus ...	2002	12449888
anti-leprosy protective vaccination of rhesus monkeys with bcg or bcg plus heat-killed mycobacterium leprae: lepromin skin test results.	groups of rhesus monkeys (rm) were vaccinated and boosted with living mycobacterium bovis bacillus calmette-guerin (bcg) or bcg + low dose (ld) heat-killed mycobacterium leprae (hkml) or high dose (hd) hkml or were unvaccinated. animals vaccinated with bcg + ld and hd hkml were lepromin skin tested 2 weeks after boosting. all groups were lepromin tested 37 and 46 months after challenge with live m. leprae. fernandez (72 h) and mitsuda (28 day) responses were recorded. ten of 10 rhesus monkeys in ...	2002	12449891
comment on "a high incidence of viable mycobacterium leprae in post-mdt recurrent lesions in tuberculoid leprosy patients" by shetty et al.		2002	12449896
tuberculin conversion in hiv seropositives.	the human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) epidemic is associated with increased incidence of tuberculosis. there is a need to provide prophylaxis for the same. mycobacterium w, a non-pathogenic, atypical mycobacterium, shares antigenic determinants with mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis. the tuberculin response, which is a delayed hypersensitivity reaction, indicates the status of cellular immunity against tuberculosis. the objective of this study was to evaluate potential of myco ...	2002	12452519
biochemistry and comparative genomics of sxxk superfamily acyltransferases offer a clue to the mycobacterial paradox: presence of penicillin-susceptible target proteins versus lack of efficiency of penicillin as therapeutic agent.	the bacterial acyltransferases of the sxxk superfamily vary enormously in sequence and function, with conservation of particular amino acid groups and all-alpha and alpha/beta folds. they occur as independent entities (free-standing polypeptides) and as modules linked to other polypeptides (protein fusions). they can be classified into three groups. the group i sxxk d,d-acyltransferases are ubiquitous in the bacterial world. they invariably bear the motifs sxxk, sxn(d), and kt(s)g. anchored in t ...	2002	12456788
painful skin nodules and epididymo-orchitis.		2002	12472355
prevalence and incidence density of mycobacterium leprae and trypanosoma cruzi infections within a population of wild nine-banded armadillos.	a total of 415 wild 9-banded armadillos from the east atchafalaya river levee (point coupee, la) were collected over 4 years to estimate the incidence and prevalence of mycobacterium leprae and trypanosoma cruzi and to discern any relationship between the 2 agents. m. leprae infections were maintained at a high steady prevalence rate year to year averaging 19%. t. cruzi antibody prevalence remained relatively low, averaging 3.9%, and varied markedly between years. prevalence rates were independe ...	2002	12479557
combined 12-month who/mdt mb regimen and mycobacterium w. vaccine in multibacillary leprosy: a follow-up of 136 patients.	a total of 136 patients with bi > or = 2 having been followed up for at least 2 years or more were included in the analyses. seventy-seven out of 136 patients had completed three years follow up. all patients were given who/mdt mb regimen for 12 months and additionally 4 doses of mycobacterium w. vaccine at 3-month intervals. the age of the patients varied from 6 to 77 years (mean 34 +/- 11.3 years) and they had the disease varying from 3 months to 7 years (mean = 1.9 +/- 1.4 years). the mean of ...	2002	12483965
effect of hsp65 dna vaccination carrying immunostimulatory dna sequences (cpg motifs) against mycobacterium leprae multiplication in mice.	a dna expressing hsp65 of mycobacterium leprae (pacb/hsp65) was constructed by using a vector containing immunostimulatory dna sequences (pacb). at 12 weeks post-immunization, spleen cells from balb/ca mice immunized with pacb/hsp65, produced a significantly higher amount of ifn-gamma than mice immunized with pacb in the absence of any in vitro stimulation, and further enhanced its production upon secondary in vitro stimulation with m. leprae lysate and hsp65. on the other hand, while production ...	2002	12483966
phenolic glycolipid-1 (pgl-1) in buruli ulcer lesions. first demonstration by immuno-histochemistry.	buruli ulcer, caused by mycobacterium ulcerans, is emerging as the third most common mycobacterial disease after leprosy and tuberculosis in some tropical regions. although a toxin of the polyketide family is central to the pathogenesis of the disease, there are still several parameters that need clarification. among them and of crucial interest are the curative drug treatment and the test for early detection of the disease. in this study, we used mouse monoclonal antibodies, raised against synt ...	2002	12483968
nitric oxide and mycobacterium leprae pathogenicity.	leprosy is an old, still dreaded infectious disease caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium mycobacterium leprae. during the infectious process, m. leprae is faced with the host macrophagic environment, where the oxidative stress and no release, combined with low ph, low po2, and high pco2, contribute to limit the growth of the bacilli. comparative genomics has unraveled massive gene decay in m. leprae, linking the strictly parasitic lifestyle with the reductive genome evolution. compared ...	2002	12489635
dosage and site of entry influence growth and dissemination of mycobacterium leprae in t900r mice.	the role of dosage of mycobacterium leprae and the environment of the inoculated site, in producing leprosy lesions in immunologically-suppressed, highly-susceptible t900r mice, was investigated. various doses of m. leprae, i.e., 10(7), 10(6), 10(5), 10(4), were inoculated into both flanks and footpads of two different groups of mice. the sites of inoculation were biopsied for histopathological examination and for m. leprae counts at the end of 6, 8 and 12 months. m. leprae multiplied at the inf ...	2002	12768925
profiles of the mrna expression by macrophages infected with mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium avium complex.	in the present study, we examined profiles of the interaction of mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium avium complex (mac) with murine peritoneal macrophages (m phi s) in terms of up-regulation of m phi expression of proinflammatory and immunosuppressing cytolines (cks) after infection. first, the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) assay revealed that both mac and m. leprae infections up-regulated m phi mrna expression il-12, tnf-alpha, il-10, and transformating growth fac ...	2002	12768926
ap-1 is present in nuclear extracts of lymphocytes from lepromatous leprosy patients.		2002	12768929
localized lepromatous leprosy presenting as a painful nodule in a muscle.	lepromatous leprosy is a generalized disease usually presenting with numerous macules, papules, nodules or plaques involving wide areas of the skin. it is generally believed that in india lepromatous leprosy often originates from the borderline spectrum (jha et al, 1991). localized lepromatous or borderline lepromatous disease is a rare variant of multibacillary leprosy (yoder et al, 1985; jha et al, 1991; pfaltzgraff & ramu, 1994; vijaikumar et al, 2001). this variant usually presents as a sing ...	2002	12708703
unusual localization of lesions in lepromatous leprosy.		2002	12708705
reactions in borderline leprosy.	this is a retrospective study of 276 patients consisting of 157 active and 119 reactive patients of borderline leprosy. they were followed up for 10 years after sulphone monotherapy. the presenting symptoms were carefully examined from the records and systematically presented. frequency of reactions was least in bt cases and most in bl cases. risk factors of reaction appear to be the type of leprosy, multiplicity of lesions, high bi and, possibly, psychological stress. biopsy of skin lesions was ...	2002	12708730
incidence of leprosy in school-children and their family members in berhampur.	a school survey, followed by a contact survey, was carried out in berhampur, a city in southern orissa. in a study of 8,870 school-children, leprosy was detected in 15, giving a prevalence rate of 16.91 per 10,000 with a male:female ratio of 8:7. of these, 14 (93.99%) had paucibacillary leprosy. more cases [11 (73.33%)] were seen in the age-group of 10-15 years. exposed parts, such as lower limbs, upper limbs and head and neck in that order, were the sites of predilection, accounting for 85.71% ...	2002	12708732
single dose rom therapy in goa.		2002	12708738
reversal reaction to hansen's disease.	a 25-year-old man with a history of mid-borderline (bb) hansen's disease developing a reversal reaction after starting dapsone and rifampin therapy is presented. his clinical features included erythematous, edematous plaques and peripheral neuropathy. reversal reactions are caused immunologically by enhanced cell-mediated (th-1) immunity to mycobacterium leprae, resulting in inflammation of infected tissues, such as skin and nerves. acute neuritis can lead to permanent nerve damage and necessita ...	2002	12847760
cloning of the o-acetylserine lyase gene from the ruminal bacterium selenomonas ruminantium hd4.	the gene coding for o-acetylserine lyase (oasl) was cloned from a selenomonas ruminantium hd4 lambda zap ii genomic library by degenerative probe hybridization and complementation. sequence analysis revealed a 933 bp orf with a g + c content of 53%. the orf had significant homology with enzymes involved in cysteine biosynthesis. a curablastn homology search showed that the orf shared 59% nucleotide identity with the cysk of bacillus subtilis. the deduced amino acid sequence exhibited high (>70%) ...	2002	11821922
selective t-cell recognition of the n-terminal peptide of groes in tuberculosis.	peptides derived from the whole sequence of mycobacterial groes heat shock proteins were tested for the ability to induce the proliferation of blood mononuclear cells from tuberculosis patients and sensitized healthy subjects. the response to the n-terminal peptide (residues 1 to 16) was found to be more frequent and stronger in tuberculosis patients. this finding is exceptional, considering that recognition of all other groes peptides by patients was either diminished or not different from that ...	2002	11854259
the study of mycobacterium leprae infection in interferon-gamma gene--disrupted mice as a model to explore the immunopathologic spectrum of leprosy.	mycobacterium leprae infection was evaluated in interferon-gamma knockout (gko) mice. at 4 months, growth of the bacilli in the footpads of gko mice plateaued a log(10) higher than that in control mice. control mice exhibited mild lymphocytic and histiocytic infiltrates, whereas gko mice developed large, unorganized infiltrates of epithelioid macrophages and scattered cd4 and cd8 t cells. flow cytometric analysis of popliteal lymph node cells demonstrated similar profiles of t cells; however, gk ...	2002	11865434
management of erythema nodosum leprosum by thalidomide: thalidomide analogues inhibit m. leprae-induced tnfalpha production in vitro.	thalidomide is being successfully used for the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum (enl), among other disorders with inflammatory and immunological bases. although the active molecules responsible for the diverse therapeutic activities of the drug and the sequence of reactions triggered inside the cells remain unclear, it was demonstrated that thalidomide (thal) inhibits tnfalpha mrna expression and protein production by stimulated monocytes and activated t lymphocytes. patients treated with ...	2002	11905505
royal society of tropical medicine and hygiene meeting at manson house, london, 18th january 2001. pathogen genomes and human health. mycobacterial genomics.	the small size of their genomes made bacterial ideal model organisms for the emerging field of genomics. elucidating the genome sequences of mycobacteria was particularly attractive owing to the difficulties inherent in their manipulation. the slow growth rate, clumping, and requirement for category iii containment make manipulation of mycobacterium tuberculosis-complex strains laborious. m. leprae presents even greater problems as it has resisted all attempts at axenic culture. availability of ...	2002	11925980
identification and characterization of the esat-6 homologue of mycobacterium leprae and t-cell cross-reactivity with mycobacterium tuberculosis.	in this paper we describe identification and characterization of mycobacterium leprae esat-6 (l-esat-6), the homologue of m. tuberculosis esat-6 (t-esat-6). t-esat-6 is expressed by all pathogenic strains belonging to the m. tuberculosis complex but is absent from virtually all other mycobacterial species, and it is a promising antigen for immunodiagnosis of tuberculosis (tb). therefore, we analyzed whether l-esat-6 is a similarly powerful tool for the study of leprosy by examining t-cell respon ...	2002	11953394
rifampicin resistant leprosy: a review and a research proposal of a pilot study.		2002	11969122
typing of clinical isolates of mycobacterium leprae and their distribution in korea.	although there is no genetic diversity in isolates of mycobacterium leprae, the variance of tandem repeats in the rpot gene was recently demonstrated. we have typed clinical isolates of m. leprae in korea using difference of the tandem repeats in the rpot gene. among 69 patients, 65 korean isolates (94.2%) demonstrated four copies of the 6 bp tandem repeat (gacatc) in the rpot gene, and incidences of three copies were found in only two koreans and two foreigners (2.9%, respectively).	2002	11969125
bacterial index of granuloma and its relevance compared to bi of skin smears.		2002	11969131
progress towards development of immunoassays for detection of mycobacterium leprae infection, employing 35kda antigen: an update.	the 35 kda antigen of mycobacterium leprae is a membrane component that contains both b and t-cell stimulating epitopes. monoclonal antibodies, primarily specific to m. leprae, have been developed against this antigen. moreover, this antigen has been genetically engineered. using recombinant 35 kda antigen and/or a monoclonal antibody against an epitope on 35 kda, a variety of antibody/antigen detecting tests have been described for detection of m. leprae infection. 35 kda protein also stimulate ...	2002	11969136
reactive nitrogen and oxygen intermediates and bacterial defenses: unusual adaptations in mycobacterium tuberculosis.	the production of reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen intermediates is an important host defense mechanism mediated in response to infection by bacterial pathogens. not surprisingly, intracellular pathogens have evolved numerous defense strategies to protect themselves against the damaging effects of these agents. in enteric bacteria, exposure to oxidative or nitrosative stress induces expression of numerous pathways that allow the bacterium to resist the toxic effects of these compounds durin ...	2002	11970850
ifn-gamma and no in mycobacterial disease: new jobs for old hands.	granulomatous disease following exposure to mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium leprae or mycobacterium avium is correlated with strong inflammatory and protective responses. the mouse model of mycobacterial infection provides an excellent tool with which to examine the inter-relationship between protective cell-mediated immunity and tissue-damaging hypersensitivity. it is well established that t cells and interferon (ifn)-gamma are necessary components of anti-bacterial protection. we pro ...	2002	11973155
spoilt for choice: protein target selection in a time of plenty.	experiences in the application of boolean logic to the clusters of orthologous groups of proteins (cogs) database for target selection in the mycobacterium tuberculosis genome are described.	2002	11976509
[leprosy reactions].	in leprosy, the causative bacteria, mycobacterium leprae, will not threaten the lives of the hosts directly because they proliferate only slowly in the schwann cells of the peripheral nerves. it is the "reactions" which give the patients irreversible morbidity through the inflammatory damages to the peripheral nerves. physicians should be aware of the possibility of the state of the "reaction" when they examine leprosy patients. they also should be aware of the possibility of leprosy and the sta ...	2002	11979755
prevention of diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice by a single immunization with mycobacterium leprae.	the incidence of overt diabetes was completely prevented by a single intradermal inoculation of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) into non-obese diabetic (nod) mice as young as 6-7 weeks. partial prevention was also observed in cases when 65 kd heat-shock protein (hsp65) with freund's incomplete adjuvant (fia) was injected, and no prevention was observed by 38 kd with fia immunization. histological examination of pancreata demonstrated that control and m. leprae-immunized mice at 24 weeks of age ...	2002	11979756
[susceptibility to mycobacterium leprae of congenic hypertensive nude rat (shr/ncrj-rnu) and production of cytokine from the resident peritoneal macrophages].	we have established a congenic hypertensive nude rat strain, shr/ncrj-rnu, carrying nude (rnu) and hypertension genes which was produced using females of the shr/ncrj rat and males of the f344/njcl nude rat by cross-intercross system for 12 generations. we demonstrated the susceptibility to m. leprae infection of shr/ncrj-rnu rats as compared with f344/njcl-rnu rats. shr/ncrj-rnu rats were highly susceptible to m. leprae, and the shr/ncrj-rnu rats of both sexes showed massive swelling of legs du ...	2002	11979757
human t cell responses to peptides of the mycobacterium leprae 45-kd serine-rich antigen.	in order to identify t cell epitopes within the mycobacterium leprae 45-kd serine-rich antigen, we analysed responses to overlapping 17-mer peptides encompassing the whole antigen in non-exposed uk controls, pakistani leprosy patients and tuberculosis patients in both the united kingdom and pakistan. this antigen has been described as m. leprae-specific, although it has a hypothetical homologue in m. tuberculosis. human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with peptide for 5 days a ...	2002	11982601
microbiology. subversion of schwann cells and the leper's bell.		2002	11988561
contact-dependent demyelination by mycobacterium leprae in the absence of immune cells.	demyelination results in severe disability in many neurodegenerative diseases and nervous system infections, and it is typically mediated by inflammatory responses. mycobacterium leprae, the causative organism of leprosy, induced rapid demyelination by a contact-dependent mechanism in the absence of immune cells in an in vitro nerve tissue culture model and in rag1-knockout (rag1-/-) mice, which lack mature b and t lymphocytes. myelinated schwann cells were resistant to m. leprae invasion but un ...	2002	11988579
dna-pcr and rt-pcr for the 18-kda gene of mycobacterium leprae to assess the efficacy of multi-drug therapy for leprosy.	dna-pcr and reverse transcription (rt)-pcr for the 18-kda protein of mycobacterium leprae were used to examine the efficacy of multi-drug therapy (mdt) in leprosy. mdt was administered for 0-24 months. fourteen (63.6%) of 22 patients showed positive pcr results after treatment for 12 months and the positive results decreased to 30% after 24 months of mdt. these results did not correlate with the bacterial index (bi) or the igm antibody titre for the phenolic glycolipid (pgl)-1. one-dimensional d ...	2002	11990494
[the discovery of the leprosy bacillus].	gerhard henrik armauer hansen (1841-1912) worked on leprosy throughout his career. following his discovery of the leprosy bacillus in 1873, he proposed legislation that, when enacted in 1877 and 1885, established preventive measures aimed at isolating infectious patients. around 1920, leprosy was more or less eradicated in norway after a period of decline starting in 1850. over this period, more than 8,000 cases were registered. armauer hansen's unique research achievement was based on a scienti ...	2002	11998735
ddt inhibits the functional activation of murine macrophages and decreases resistance to infection by mycobacterium microti.	ddt is still widely used in several parts of the world to control malaria, typhoid and dengue vectors, even though its use was banned in many countries based on toxicity data in wild life species. ddt has been shown to have immunotoxic effects in mice and to increase susceptibility to intracellular pathogens such as mycobacterium leprae. however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this effect. activated macrophages play an important defensive role against intracellular pathogens, th ...	2002	12007859
[speech of sakurane award recipient: pcr in leprosy].		2002	12013817
[genomic evolution of pathogenic bacteria and horizontal gene transfer].		2002	12013818
the mycobacterium leprae hsp65 displays proteolytic activity. mutagenesis studies indicate that the m. leprae hsp65 proteolytic activity is catalytically related to the hslvu protease.	the present study reports, for the first time, that the recombinant hsp65 from mycobacterium leprae (chaperonin 2) displays a proteolytic activity toward oligopeptides. the m. leprae hsp65 proteolytic activity revealed a trypsin-like specificity toward quenched fluorescence peptides derived from dynorphins. when other peptide substrates were used (beta-endorphin, neurotensin, and angiotensin i), the predominant peptide bond cleavages also involved basic amino acids in p(1), although, to a minor ...	2002	12044173
the use of protein structure/activity relationships in the rational design of stable particulate delivery systems.	the recombinant heat shock protein (18 kda-hsp) from mycobacterium leprae was studied as a t-epitope model for vaccine development. we present a structural analysis of the stability of recombinant 18 kda-hsp during different processing steps. circular dichroism and elisa were used to monitor protein structure after thermal stress, lyophilization and chemical modification. we observed that the 18 kda-hsp is extremely resistant to a wide range of temperatures (60% of activity is retained at 80 deg ...	2002	12045839
[developing and using a pcr test to detect subclinical mycobacterium leprae infection].	while the prevalence of leprosy has declined around the world, there has not been a corresponding decrease in its incidence, thus indicating that it has not been possible to prevent transmission of the disease. despite the small number of patients with lepromatous leprosy, the majority of the inhabitants of endemic areas show signs of exposure to mycobacterium leprae, which could be explained by the presence of subclinical bacilliferous infections in the community. the objective of this study wa ...	2002	12049031
the truncated hemoglobin from mycobacterium leprae.	truncated hemoglobins (trhb's) form a family of low molecular weight o2 binding hemoproteins distributed in eubacteria, protozoa, and plants. trhb's branch in a distinct clade within the hemoglobin (hb) superfamily. a unique globin gene has recently been identified from the complete genome sequence of mycobacterium leprae that is predicted to encode a trhb (m. leprae trhbo). sequence comparison and modelling considerations indicate that monomeric m. leprae trhbo has structural features typical o ...	2002	12074585
overexpression, purification, and site-directed spin labeling of the nramp metal transporter from mycobacterium leprae.	it has long been recognized that the pathogenicity of a broad range of intracellular parasites depends on the availability of transition metal ions, especially iron. nramp1 (natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1), a proton-coupled divalent metal ion transporter, has been identified as a controlling factor in the resistance or susceptibility to infection with a diverse range of intracellular pathogens such as toxoplasma, salmonella, mycobacterium, and leishmania. the role of divalent ...	2002	12077319
studying genomes through the aeons: protein families, pseudogenes and proteome evolution.	protein families can be used to understand many aspects of genomes, both their "live" and their "dead" parts (i.e. genes and pseudogenes). surveys of genomes have revealed that, in every organism, there are always a few large families and many small ones, with the overall distribution following a power-law. this commonality is equally true for both genes and pseudogenes, and exists despite the fact that the specific families that are enlarged differ greatly between organisms. furthermore, becaus ...	2002	12083509
association of a missense mutation of the laminin alpha2 gene with tuberculoid type of leprosy in indonesian patients.	leprosy, an infection caused by mycobacterium leprae, has a specific tropism for the myelinating schwann cells of peripheral nerves. recently, the g domain of laminin alpha2 has been shown to be a mediator for m. leprae to bind to alpha-dystroglycan in schwann cells. in order to analyse the association of leprosy with the mediator, three genetic polymorphisms encoding the g domain of the laminin alpha2 chain were analysed by direct sequencing in 53 leprosy patients and 58 healthy contact individ ...	2002	12100448
[raoul against basil].		2002	12108197
novel 33-kilodalton lipoprotein from mycobacterium leprae.	a novel mycobacterium leprae lipoprotein lpk (accession no. ml0603) was identified from the genomic database. the 1,116-bp open reading frame encodes a 371-amino-acid precursor protein with an n-terminal signal sequence and a consensus motif for lipid conjugation. expression of the protein, lpk, in escherichia coli revealed a 33-kda protein, and metabolic labeling experiments and globomycin treatment proved that the protein was lipidated. fractionation of m. leprae demonstrated that this lipopro ...	2002	12117918
a study on a possibility of predicting early relapse in leprosy using a nd-o-bsa based elisa.	serological methods have been used for detecting infection with mycobacterium leprae. we have applied a serological test to explore the possibility it could detect a bacterial relapse among patients who have been cured with chemotherapy. more specifically we used an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (elisa) using the natural disaccharide (nd) of the phenolic glycolipid antigen of m. leprae linked to bovine serum albumin as antigen. antibody levels were measured in sera from normal contr ...	2002	12120035
light and ultrastructural study of sciatic nerve lesions induced using intraneural injection of viable mycobacterium leprae in normal and immunosuppressed swiss white mice.	freshly harvested m. leprae were microinjected into the sciatic nerves of nonimmunosuppressed (non-tr) and immunosuppressed (tr) mice using the technique described by wisniewski and bloom. the lesions thus induced, on bypassing the blood-nerve barrier, were biopsied at regular intervals beginning 24 hr and followed up to one year. the fate of m. leprae and the ensuing inflammation and nerve damage were studied using light and electron microscopy. the lesions in both non-tr and tr mice at 24 hr s ...	2002	12120037
detection of mycobacterium leprae dna by pcr in blood sample from nine-banded armadillo: preliminary results.		2002	12120038
local nerve damage in leprosy does not lead to an impaired cellular immune response or decreased wound healing in the skin.	this study investigated whether peripheral nerve damage in patients with leprosy impairs local cellular immune responses, thereby reducing wound healing and leading to chronic skin ulceration. anesthetic and contralateral sensitive skin sites in 42 patients with leprosy were compared for delayed-type hypersensitivity responses to purified protein derivative (ppd) of tuberculin. leukocyte recruitment, epidermal activation, keratinocyte proliferation, and rates of wound healing after skin biopsy w ...	2002	12134264
role of the pks15/1 gene in the biosynthesis of phenolglycolipids in the mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. evidence that all strains synthesize glycosylated p-hydroxybenzoic methyl esters and that strains devoid of phenolglycolipids harbor a frameshift mutation in the pks15/1 gene.	diesters of phthiocerol and phenolphthiocerol are important virulence factors of mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae, the two main mycobacterial pathogens in humans. they are both long-chain beta-diols, and their biosynthetic pathway is beginning to be elucidated. although the two classes of molecules share a common lipid core, phthiocerol diesters have been found in all the strains of the m. tuberculosis complex examined although phenolphthiocerol diesters are produced by only a ...	2002	12138124
the multiple faces of the immune response to mycobacterium tuberculosis.		2002	12160631