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detection of mycobacterium leprae infection by pcr.pcr amplification of the 531-bp fragment of the mycobacterium leprae pra gene in fresh biopsy and slit skin smear samples was evaluated for its usefulness in the detection of leprosy bacilli in patients in thailand. in multibacillary patients, 87.1% (27 of 31) of biopsy specimens and 41.9% (13 of 31) of slit skin smear specimens were positive by pcr, whereas in paucibacillary patients, 36.4% (8 of 22) of biopsy specimens and 18.2% (4 of 22) of slit skin smear specimens yielded detectable pcr amp ...19957699064
purification of dna from mycobacterium species without sonication or phenol. 19957727118
bacterial infections: the arthritis of leprosy.arthritis is a common feature of leprosy and contributes to disability. direct invasion of joints and bones by mycobacteria may lead to a destructive arthritis in lepromatous disease. the infective process may involve few or many joints. reactional states may occur spontaneously but usually after the initiation of anti-mycobacterial treatment. in both the type 1 reaction of borderline case and the type 2 reaction of the lepromatous disease, intense inflammation may occur at sites of infection. t ...19957728880
cellular immune response to mycobacterium leprae infection in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals.the immune responses to mycobacterium leprae and other mycobacterial antigens were studied in 11 leprosy patients with concurrent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) infection. three patients manifested borderline lepromatous leprosy, and eight patients had borderline tuberculoid (bt) leprosy. despite the low cd4+ t-cell count in the peripheral blood, no histologic or phenotypic change in the cellular infiltrate in either the lepromatous or tuberculoid lesions was observed when compared ...19957729894
are 18 doses of who/mdt sufficient for multibacillary leprosy; results of a trial in malawi.a trial comparing 18 monthly and 30 monthly doses of the world health organization-recommended multidrug therapy (who/mdt) in 305 multibacillary leprosy patients in malawi is described. patients were randomly allocated to one of the two regimens at the time of taking the 18th supervised dose of who/mdt. the mean follow-up period was 3 years (maximum 6 years). no relapse was observed in either group. the cumulative probabilities of remaining slit-skin smear positive were significantly higher amon ...19957730703
an unusual spreading phenomenon in an artificial medium inoculated with m. leprae. 19957730704
mycobacterium leprae in the epidermis: ultrastructural study i. 19957730705
detection of afb in tuberculoid biopsies. 19957730706
enhanced response of serum igg class of anti-pgl-i antibodies in leprosy patients during onset and following clinical remission of type 1 and type 2 reactions. 19957730708
incidence of late lepra reaction among multibacillary leprosy patients after mdt.multidrug therapy (mdt) recommended by the world health organization (who) had been administered in 1982 to a cohort of multibacillary (mb) leprosy patients. treatment was administered for a minimum period of 2 years or until skin-smear negativity for acid-fast bacilli was achieved (whichever was later). among 980 mb leprosy patients who completed treatment, 11 patients (1.1%) experienced lepra reactions during surveillance. probable predictive factors are discussed. the incidence of lepra react ...19957730714
optimal ph for preserving the activity of mycobacterium leprae during incubation of cells in a cell-free liquid medium.the effect of the ph of a cell-free liquid medium on the activity of mycobacterium leprae during incubation of the cells was investigated. as a parameter for evaluating the activity, the amount of adenosine triphosphate (atp) extracted from the incubated cells collected by centrifugation was measured. the results demonstrate that the activity of m. leprae cells was maintained at a significant level for approximately 4 weeks at 30 degrees c in 0.05 m phosphate buffer containing 10% fetal calf ser ...19957730716
clinical utility of lsr/a15 gene for mycobacterium leprae detection in leprosy tissues using the polymerase chain reaction.skin biopsy and slit-skin smears from 46 leprosy patients and 4 nonleprosy patients were tested for the presence of mycobacterium leprae by the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) using primers based on the sequence of the lsr/15 kd gene. the pcr was found to be specific and sensitive, with a detection level of 10 and 100 bacilli. pcr using skin biopsies gave a higher detection rate than did slit-skin smears, probably due to the higher density of bacilli in a 4-mm punch biopsy. dot blot hybridizatio ...19957730717
application of polymerase chain reaction for the detection of mycobacterium leprae dna in specimens from treated leprosy patients.in this study of leprosy patients apparently cured by dapsone monotherapy, the polymerase chain reaction (pcr), one of the most reliable and sensitive dna-based assays, was used for the specific detection of mycobacterium leprae dna. sputum and slit-skin samples from 44 such patients at baba baghi leprosy sanatorium in iran were examined. primers for a 530-base-pair fragment of the gene encoding the 36-kda antigen of m. leprae were used for the study. the pcr results were compared with microscop ...19957730718
analysis of vaccines prepared from armadillo-derived m. leprae; results of an inter-laboratory study coordinated by the world health organization. immunology of mycobacterial diseases (immyc) steering committee, world health organization.preparations of armadillo-derived mycobacterium leprae used in vaccine trials were analyzed using a combination of morphological, chemical and immunological criteria. when compared to more recent preparations, vaccine lots prepared in 1984 and 1985 were found to contain fewer intact bacilli and lower amounts of m. leprae antigens. these differences may be characteristic of the original preparations, or alternatively, may have arisen during prolonged storage. the early vaccine lots were those use ...19957730719
identification and purification of armadillo (dasypus novemcinctus) immunoglobulins: preparation of specific antisera to evaluate the immune response in these animals.in this work we describe the purification and characterization of armadillo immunoglobulins. the igm was precipitated using low-strength ionic solution and further purified by filtration through sephadex g-200. the igg was obtained in pure form by precipitation of serum with ammonium sulfate and deae-cellulose ion exchange chromatography. the purity of these immunoglobulins was evaluated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. the results showed 28-kda light chains and 55-kda and 70-kda heavy cha ...19957730720
minocycline in lepromatous leprosy.twelve patients were treated with three dose levels of minocycline for 30 days, primarily to detect the dose-related effects on mycobacterium leprae viability, followed by another 5 months of daily minocycline for overall efficacy and persistence of clinical and antibacterial effects. subsequently, the patients were given standard who/mdt chemotherapy for multibacillary leprosy. clinical improvement was recognizable during the first month, occurring much earlier among those on minocycline 200 mg ...19957730723
mycobacterium leprae iron nutrition: bacterioferritin, mycobactin, exochelin and intracellular growth. 19957730724
acid-fast bacilli from former leprosy regions in coastal norway showing pcr positivity for mycobacterium leprae. 19957730727
igg subclass antibodies to mycobacterial sonicate and recombinant antigens in leprosy.in this study the igg subclass antibodies to sonicated preparations of mycobacterium leprae (leprosin a) and bcg (bcg-s) as well as to purified recombinant 65 kda protein of m. leprae (rml65) were analysed in sera from leprosy patients and healthy household contacts (hfc) and noncontacts (hnc) in a leprosy endemic population. in lbi+ (lepromatous bacterial index positive) patients, igg3 was predominant in the responses to sonicated antigens of m. leprae. following chemotherapy, igg3 responses we ...19957731337
a study on performance of two serological assays for diagnosis of leprosy patients.we compared 2 serological tests for the diagnosis of leprosy to test their performances. the tests include the serum antibody competition test (sact) for the detection of antibodies to mycobacterium leprae-specific epitope on 35 kda protein molecule, and m. leprae gelatin particle agglutination assay (mlpa), for the detection of antiphenolic glycolipid-1 (pgl-1) antibodies. in both the assays a higher serological positivity was seen amongst multibacillary (mb) patients than those in paucibacilla ...19957731338
inhibition of the multiplication of mycobacterium leprae in nude mice by intermittent administration of a new rifamycin derivative, 3'-hydroxy-5'-(4-isobutyl-1-piperazinyl)benzoxazinorifamycin (krm-1648) combined with sparfloxacin.inhibition of the multiplication of mycobacterium leprae in the footpads of nude mice by the oral administration of sparfloxacin, a new quinolone, and 3'-hydroxy-5'-(4-isobutyl-1-piperazinyl)benzoxazinorifamycin (krm-1648), selected from a series of newly synthesized benzoxazinorifamycins, was studied. when the 2 drugs were administered alternately at intervals of 3 or 4 days, (i.e., each drug was administered once weekly), or simultaneously once weekly, between 3 and 5 months after inoculation ...19957731340
[ocular histopathological studies in leprosy in the silent stage--ii. immunohistochemical studies].the distribution of leprosy antigen in 21 eyes from 12 autopsy cases of lepromatous leprosy patients (5 eyes from 3 cases in the silent stage, 16 cases from 9 cases in the active stage) were examined with acid-fast staining and immunohistochemistry. anti-bcg antibody, anti-phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) antibody, and anti-lipoarabinomannan-b (lam-b) antibody were used as primary antigens. in the active stage, anti-bcg antibody and anti-lam-b antibody showed almost the same staining pattern. some ...19957732928
characterization of rna polymerase and two sigma-factor genes from mycobacterium smegmatis.a search for mycobacterium smegmatis genes showing similarity to the conserved family encoding major sigma factors in diverse prokaryotes has identified two such determinants. both genes are expressed in exponentially growing cells, as judged by western immunoassays. a series of chromatographic steps was used to purify m. smegmatis rna polymerase holoenzyme and it was shown that its ability to initiate in vitro transcription with a heterologous bacillus subtilis promoter is dependent on the pres ...19957746156
leprosy-associated renal disease: case report and review of the literature.leprosy is an infectious disease the principal clinical manifestations of which are anesthetic skin lesions and the development of peripheral neuropathy. the most common renal manifestation in leprosy patients is glomerulonephritis. both immunofluorescent and electron microscopic studies suggest that the varied glomerular lesions found in these patients are immune complex mediated. other renal lesions that have been described include amyloidosis, tubulointerstitial disease, acute renal failure, ...19957756586
identification of dna-binding proteins changed after induction of sporulation in bacillus cereus.dna-binding proteins were extracted from both exponentially growing cells of bacillus cereus ts-4 and cells that were induced to sporulate at different stages of chromosome replication, by using a double-stranded b. cereus ts-4 dna-cellulose column. two-dimensional electrophoresis of the proteins found that the amounts of 17 proteins changed drastically after induction of sporulation at all the stages. for 8 of those proteins, the largest or the smallest amount was found in the cells which were ...19957766022
characterization of streptomyces albus 18-kilodalton heat shock-responsive protein.in streptomyces albus during the heat shock response, a small heat shock protein of 18 kda is dramatically induced. this protein was purified, and internal sequences revealed that s. albus hsp18 showed a marked homology with proteins belonging to the family of small heat shock proteins. the corresponding gene was isolated and sequenced. dna sequence analysis confirmed that the hsp18 gene product is an analog of the 18-kda antigen of mycobacterium leprae. no hsp18 mrna could be detected at 30 deg ...19957768794
structural definition of acylated phosphatidylinositol mannosides from mycobacterium tuberculosis: definition of a common anchor for lipomannan and lipoarabinomannan.based on chemical analysis, we have previously concluded that the biologically important lipoarabinomannan (lam) and lipomannan (lm) from mycobacterium are multiglycosylated forms of the phosphatidylinositol mannosides (pims), the characteristic cell envelope mannophosphoinositides of mycobacteria. using definitive analytical techniques, we have now re-examined the reported multiacylated nature of pims in order to gain a better insight into their possible roles as biosynthetic precursors of lm a ...19957772860
[prognostic significance of seroepidemiological check-up in leprosy]. 19957777461
[immunomodulating role of endogenous thyroid hormones in mycobacterioses].radionuclide tracing in peripheral blood of patients with mycobacterial infections varying in activity (lepromatous lepra, n = 98; pulmonary tuberculosis, n = 51) provided information on lymphocyte proliferative response to pha, tuberculin, sensitin from lepra mycobacteria, on thyroid hormones concentrations. endogenic thyroid hormones are shown to have immunomodulating properties closely related to the disease activity.19957777462
[protective properties of m. lufu in experimental leprosy].a protective potential of m. lufu against experimental lepra was studied in mice infected with m. leprae according to shepard. 5 and 9 months after the inoculation quantitation of the causative agent in the animals' paws indicated a protective action of m. lufu which exceeded that of bcg, m. vaccae and m. leprae. high protective activity of m. lufu is due both to its antigenic composition similarity with m. leprae and influence on immune response regulation. it is suggested to use m. lufu for de ...19957777465
potential role of roxithromycin against the mycobacterium avium complex.until the recent experience with azithromycin and clarithromycin, macrolides were not considered to be important agents against mycobacteria. clinical evidence is now growing that the newer 14 and 15 membered macrolide compounds have therapeutic activity against mycobacterium avium, mycobacterium chelonae and mycobacterium leprae. several years ago, when evaluating the activity of roxithromycin using one of the more virulent m. avium in our collection, the authors found that roxithromycin exerte ...19957782113
[the 69th annual meeting special lecture. present situation of leprosy].many leprosy patients have deformity or disability owing to the characteristics of mycobacterium leprae i.e. m. leprae affects skin and peripheral nerve. optimum growth temperature of m. leprae was estimated by clinical manifestations and animal experiments, and it was concluded that the optimum temperature is 33 degrees c, and this characteristic of m. leprae may be one of the reason why m. leprae affects skin tissue. there was no reliable treatment of leprosy before 1943, but effectiveness of ...19957783397
functional heterogeneity among cd4+ t-cell clones from blood and skin lesions of leprosy patients. identification of t-cell clones distinct from th0, th1 and th2.in the present study we examined the functional properties of t-cell clones reactive with mycobacterium leprae and other mycobacterial antigens. clones isolated from the skin lesions and blood of leprosy patients across the spectrum were exclusively cd4+cd8- and expressed the alpha beta t-cell receptor. substantial heterogeneity in the production of cytokines, in particular interleukin-4 (il-4), was observed, although no striking correlation with clinical status was apparent. a variety of patter ...19957790032
a mycobacterium leprae gene encoding a fibronectin binding protein is used for efficient invasion of epithelial cells and schwann cells.mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, is an obligate intracellular pathogen. m. leprae can infect a variety of cells in vivo, including epithelial cells, muscle cells, and schwann cells, in addition to macrophages. the ligand-receptor interactions important in the attachment and ingestion of m. leprae by these nonmacrophage cells remains unknown. fibronectin (fn) significantly enhances both attachment and ingestion of m. leprae by epithelial and schwann cell lines. we cloned an m ...19957790081
relapse of mycobacterium leprae infection with ocular manifestations.a case of ocular leprosy as the manifestation of persistent or relapsed mycobacterium leprae infection approximately 20 years following treatment is reported. the clinical and pathological features of this case are described, and the molecular methods needed to arrive at the definitive diagnosis are examined. if blindness is to be averted, clinicians must have a high index of suspicion for the diagnosis of ocular leprosy when anterior segment changes are noted during ophthalmologic examination o ...19957795073
identification of mycobacterium tuberculosis dna sequences encoding exported proteins by using phoa gene fusions.the activity of bacterial alkaline phosphatase (phoa) is dependent on it being exported across the plasma membrane. a plasmid vector (pjem11) allowing fusions between phoa and genes encoding exported proteins was constructed to study protein export in mycobacteria. introduction of the mycobacterium fortuitum beta-lactamase gene (blaf*) into this vector led to the production in m. smegmatis of protein fusions with phoa activity. a genomic library from m. tuberculosis was constructed in pjem11 and ...19957798150
risk of relapse in multibacillary leprosy. 19957799708
inositol phosphate capping of the nonreducing termini of lipoarabinomannan from rapidly growing strains of mycobacterium.previous studies have demonstrated that the nonreducing termini of the lipoarabinomannan (lam) from mycobacterium tuberculosis are extensively capped with mannose residues, whereas those from a fast growing mycobacterium sp., once thought to be an attenuated strain of m. tuberculosis, are not. the noncapped lam, termed aralam, is known to be more potent than the mannose-capped lam (manlam) in inducing functions associated with macrophage activation. using a combination of chemical and enzymatic ...19957759478
lack of cytotoxic activity against mycobacterium leprae 65-kd heat shock protein (hsp) in multibacillary leprosy patients.cytotoxic t cells play an important role in host defence mechanisms, as well as in the immunopathology of leprosy. in this study, we evaluated whether mycobacterium leprae hsp18, hsp65 and myco. tuberculosis hsp71 could induce cytotoxic t cell activity against autologous macrophages pulsed with these hsp. paucibacillary (pb) patients and normal controls generated more effector cells than multibacillary (mb) patients with all three hsp tested. there was no cross-reactivity between any of the hsp ...19957813115
immunoglobulin g1 (igg1) and igg3 antibodies are markers of progressive disease in leprosy.mycobacterium leprae-specific and polyclonal immunoglobulin g (igg) subclass and ige antibodies in leprosy patients across the histopathological spectrum were determined by using a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. antibody responses to m. leprae sonicates were detected only in igg1, -2, and -3 subclasses. even at 100-times-lower dilutions, very little igg4 and ige antibody activity against m. leprae was detected in any group of leprosy patients. quantitatively, antibody responses ...19957822004
analysis of the mycobacterium tuberculosis 85a antigen promoter region.a mycobacterial expression-secretion vector was constructed in which the escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (phoa) reporter gene was placed under the control of the mycobacterium tuberculosis 85a promoter and secretion signal sequences. in recombinant mycobacterium smegmatis and mycobacterium bovis bcg, phoa activity could readily be detected on the mycobacterial cell surface and in the culture supernatant, indicating that the 85a signals can drive heterologous expression and secretion in bot ...19957836298
tumour necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-alpha) synthesis is associated with the skin and peripheral nerve pathology of leprosy reversal reactions.leprosy may be complicated by episodes of increased cell-mediated immunity towards mycobacterium leprae (reversal reactions) which result in severe local immunopathology in skin lesions and peripheral nerves. using in situ hybridization and moab techniques we have demonstrated tnf-alpha mrna and tnf-alpha protein in macrophages infiltrating leprosy skin and peripheral nerve. levels of tnf-alpha mrna are significantly increased in reactional skin and nerve, particularly in borderline tuberculoid ...19957851011
infection of scid mice with mycobacterium leprae and control with antigen-activated "immune" human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.the scid (severe combined immunodeficient) mouse lacks both b and t cells and tolerates injected mononuclear cells from humans, the principal hosts of mycobacterium leprae. a scid mouse model of leprosy could be useful to investigate potential vaccine strategies using human cells in a context in which the growth of the organism is monitored. initial experiments determined that scid mice are more susceptible than normal mice to infection and dissemination of m. leprae. cells from humans, either b ...19957868226
molecular and immunological characterization of the highly conserved antigen 84 from mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae.crossed immunoelectrophoresis (cie) has been used to develop a reference system for classifying mycobacterial antigens. the subsequent use of specific antibodies allowed further determination of antigens by molecular weight. the monoclonal antibody f126-2, originally raised against a 34-kda antigen of mycobacterium kansasii, reacted with antigen 84 (ag84) in the cie reference system for mycobacterium bovis bcg and mycobacterium tuberculosis. to characterize ag84, we screened a lambda gt11 gene l ...19957868268
an improved method for the species-specific assessment of mycobacteria in routinely formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues.a polymerase chain reaction (pcr) assay for the rapid and species-specific diagnosis of mycobacterial infections in paraffin-embedded clinical specimens was developed using oligonucleotide primers to amplify a fragment of the dna coding for the ribosomal 16s rna of mycobacteria. the oligonucleotide primers amplified dna from all 14 species of mycobacteria tested. by means of a reamplification protocol, as few as one to two mycobacteria could be detected in the presence of human dna. the method o ...19957891231
il-7 in the cell-mediated immune response to a human pathogen.the goal of the present study was to investigate the role of il-7 in regulating immune responses to infection. leprosy provides a model for understanding human immune responses to infection; the disease presents as a spectrum in which the clinical manifestations correlate with the levels of cell-mediated immunity to the pathogen, mycobacterium leprae. to determine whether il-7 is produced at the site of infection in leprosy, we used the pcr to measure il-7 and il-7r mrna in skin lesions. il-7 mr ...19957876548
x-ray structure analysis of the iron-dependent superoxide dismutase from mycobacterium tuberculosis at 2.0 angstroms resolution reveals novel dimer-dimer interactions.the x-ray structure of the tetrameric iron-dependent superoxide dismutase from mycobacterium tuberculosis has been refined to an r-factor of 0.167 and a correlation coefficient of 0.954 at 2.0 a resolution. the crystals are monoclinic p2(1) and have four subunits related by strong non-crystallographic 222 (or d2) symmetry in the asymmetric unit. 198 of the 207 amino acids of each subunit are defined by the electron density which shows that they adopt the conserved fold of other iron- or manganes ...19957877174
fibronectin-binding antigen 85 and the 10-kilodalton groes-related heat shock protein are the predominant th-1 response inducers in leprosy contacts.peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 27 healthy leprosy contacts were analyzed for lymphoproliferation and th-1 cytokine secretion (interleukin-2 and gamma interferon) in response to heat shock proteins with molecular masses of 65, 18, and 10 kda from mycobacterium leprae and the 30-32-kda antigen 85 (ag 85) from mycobacterium bovis bcg. cells from 18 and 19 of 19 lepromin-positive contacts proliferated or produced th-1 cytokines in response to the m. leprae 10-kda protein and to ag 85, respe ...19957806388
effect of xylol, urea and dpx on biological structures in leprosy cultures. 19947806907
clinical trial of ofloxacin alone and in combination with dapsone plus clofazimine for treatment of lepromatous leprosy.twenty-four patients with newly diagnosed lepromatous leprosy were allocated randomly to three groups and treated for 56 days with 400 mg of ofloxacin daily, 800 mg of ofloxacin daily, or 400 mg of ofloxacin, 100 mg of dapsone, and 50 mg of clofazimine daily plus 300 mg of clofazimine once every 28 days. the patients in all three groups demonstrated remarkable clinical improvements, accompanied by rapid decline of the morphological index in skin smears during treatment. more than 99, > 99.99, an ...19948031029
towards a dna vaccine against tuberculosis.expression of the gene for a single mycobacterial antigen (mycobacterium leprae hsp65) in adult balb/c mice resulted in substantial cell-mediated protection against challenge with m. tuberculosis. cd4 and cd8 t cells cloned from spleens of such immunized mice passively transferred protection to non-immunized mice, and cd8 cells selectively lysed macrophages infected with m. tuberculosis. three modes of expressing the gene have been tested: (1) expression from a retroviral vector (pzipneosv) in i ...19947879421
immune response in healthy volunteers vaccinated with bcg plus killed leishmanial promastigotes: antibody responses to mycobacterial and leishmanial antigens.antibody (igg) responses to mycobacterial (bcg; ppd; mycobacterium leprae soluble antigen, mlsa) and leishmanial (leishmania mexicana lv4) antigens were measured in 208 initially ppd and leishmanin skin-test negative volunteers divided into four vaccine groups as follows: 68 received bcg plus killed promastigotes (group a), 47 received bcg alone (group b), 47 received killed promastigotes alone (group c), and 46 formed the diluent control (placebo, group d). three vaccine doses were administered ...19947887018
leprosy-specific neoglycoconjugates: synthesis and application to serodiagnosis of leprosy. 19947891583
[application of polymerase chain reaction in medical microbiology].an overview is presented of different nucleic acid amplification techniques, particularly the polymerase chain reaction (pcr). the possible applications of the pcr in medical microbiology and the different phases of the pcr are discussed. four pcr applications, as elaborated and used in the authors' laboratory are presented: the diagnoses of mycoplasma pneumoniae infections, herpes simplex virus encephalitis and toxoplasma gondii encephalitis, and the detection of mycobacterium leprae. for the f ...19947892750
infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) and human t cell lymphotropic viruses among leprosy patients and contacts: correlation between hiv-1 cross-reactivity and antibodies to lipoarabinomannan.to determine the association between leprosy and human retroviral infections, 57 leprosy patients, 39 leprosy contacts, and 500 pregnant women were investigated serologically for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv) and human t cell lymphotropic virus (htlv) types i and ii. antibodies to mycobacterium leprae phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i), and lipoarabinomannan (lam) were also analyzed. a low prevalence of hiv-1 infection was observed among leprosy patients (3.5%), leprosy cont ...19947906291
leprosy vaccine. 19947908414
lipid synthesis in mycobacteria: characterization of the biotin carboxyl carrier protein genes from mycobacterium leprae and m. tuberculosis.the causative agents of leprosy and tuberculosis, mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis, have a lipid-rich cell envelope which contributes to virulence and antibiotic resistance. acyl coenzyme a carboxylase, which catalyzes the first committed step of lipid biosynthesis, consists in mycobacteria of two subunits, one of which is biotinylated. genes from m. leprae and m. tuberculosis encoding a biotinylated protein have been cloned and sequenced. analysis of the derived protein seque ...19947909542
antibodies to 65kd heat-shock protein were elevated in rheumatoid arthritis.antibodies to 65kd heat-shock protein (hsp) of mycobacterium leprae were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) in the three immunoglobulin classes in paired sera and synovial fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (ra). titers of anti-hsp antibody were expressed by optical density (od) values for sera or indexes (od values divided by amounts of immunoglobulin in each class) for synovial fluids and for their paired sera. indexes of anti-hsp antibody were higher in synovial f ...19948088070
bactericidal action of ampicillin/sulbactam against mycobacterium leprae. 19948089050
cloning and sequence determination of the gene coding for the elongation factor tu of mycobacterium leprae.elongation factor tu (ef-tu) plays an important role in protein biosynthesis and is susceptible to antibiotics in prokaryotes like escherichia coli. in order to understand the primary structure of ef-tu in the intracellular pathogenic bacterium mycobacterium leprae, the gene (tuf gene) coding for this protein was cloned and sequenced. the gene contains a coding region of 1,188 bp with gug as start codon. the deduced amino acid sequence has 396 amino acids with a molecular weight of 43.6 kda. put ...19948089081
cutaneous-malignancy and leprosy. report of a patient with mycobacterium leprae and basal cell carcinoma concurrently present in the same lesion.leprosy is a chronic systemic infection caused by the bacillus mycobacterium leprae. cutaneous neoplasms have been observed in patients with leprosy. also, albeit less commonly, m. leprae have been documented in the lesions of skin cancer.19948089361
mycdb: an integrated mycobacterial database.as part of ongoing efforts to investigate the molecular biology of the human pathogens in the genus mycobacterium, a customized database was developed specifically for these organisms and implemented in acedb database manager software. the data loaded include the immyc antigen list, details of reagents available from the cdc/who antibody bank, more than 1 mb of sequences of mycobacterial genes and proteins from public databases, the physical maps of mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tubercu ...19947934876
a morphological and functional assessment of mycobacterium leprae-induced nerve damage in a guinea-pig model of leprous neuritis.nerve damage, resembling that caused by mycobacterium leprae in man, was created by the injection of cobalt-irradiated m. leprae organisms into the tibial nerve of guinea-pigs. assessment of nerve damage was made by clinical, electrophysiological and morphometric means at intervals up to 13 weeks after injection. quantitative immunohistochemical analysis of neuropeptide-containing fibres in the skin of the foot was also carried out. significant nerve damage occurred 3 weeks after injection of m. ...19947936076
isolation of the gene for the beta subunit of rna polymerase from rifampicin-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis and identification of new mutations.tuberculosis (tb) is one of the most important infections worldwide, with an estimated incidence of 10 million active cases per year. rifampicin is a key component of the first-line therapy used in the treatment of tuberculosis. in escherichia coli and mycobacterium leprae, rifampicin has been shown to inhibit the beta subunit of rna polymerase. the gene (rpob) encoding this enzyme has been described in both species. we report the isolation of the homologous functional rifampicin resistance gene ...19947946393
vaccines against leprosy. 19947950943
evaluation of diversified antigens for detection of mycobacterium leprae antibodies from leprosy patients and contacts.a comparative evaluation of diversified antigens in elisa has been made for detection of m. leprae antibodies in the sera of leprosy patients and their contacts. out of the four antigens, namely m. leprae sonicate (ml), phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-1), m. habana sonicate (mh) and its arabinomannan (am), the cross reactive antigens (mh,am) have comparatively detected more number of leprosy cases. homologous antigens (ml, pgl-1) have lower detection level. use of mh and am for detection of mycobacte ...19947959924
bacterial heat shock proteins directly induce cytokine mrna and interleukin-1 secretion in macrophage cultures.bacterial heat shock proteins (hsp) have been shown to be important immunogens stimulating both t cells and b cells. however, little is known concerning the direct interactions between hsp and macrophages. in this study, we demonstrated that treatment of macrophage cultures with purified bacterial hsp, including legionella pneumophila hsp60, escherichia coli groel, mycobacterium tuberculosis hsp70, mycobacterium leprae hsp65, and mycobacterium bovis bcg hsp65, increased the steady-state levels o ...19947960155
development of a whole blood assay to measure t cell responses to leprosy: a new tool for immuno-epidemiological field studies of leprosy immunity.a whole blood assay is described to measure t cell mediated immune responses to leprosy and provide an alternative to the conventional lymphocyte transformation test. optimal conditions were defined for the whole blood assay, and interferon-gamma measurement was found to be a more sensitive way of measuring responses than tritiated thymidine incorporation. the assay was shown to be useful for investigating responses to a range of leprosy antigens. a whole blood assay has the advantages of being ...19947963598
extended schooling and good housing conditions are associated with reduced risk of leprosy in rural malawi.incidence rates of leprosy in karonga district, northern malawi, are analyzed by duration of schooling and housing conditions, controlling for age, sex, bcg scar and geographical zone of the household. there is a strong inverse relationship between the number of completed years of schooling and leprosy risk. good housing conditions are also associated with a decreased risk of developing leprosy in this population. the effect of housing is seen most strongly in young people. it is hypothesized th ...19947963906
activity of two doses of rifampin against mycobacterium leprae.in the course of a clinical trial designed to re-examine the bactericidal efficiency of 600-mg doses of rifampin (rmp) against mycobacterium leprae, two doses of rmp, either 600 mg or 1200 mg, were administered 28 days apart to 29 previously untreated patients with lepromatous or borderline leprosy. seven, 28, and 35 days after the start of the trial, skin biopsies were performed and immunologically normal mice were inoculated with 5 x 10(3) or 10(4) m. leprae in each hind foot pad. the patients ...19947963907
long-term evaluation of immune status in leprosy patients undergoing multiple drug therapy.a long-term survey of leprosy patients of all clinical types, starting at the time of diagnosis, was carried out to monitor clinical, bacteriological and immunological parameters at regular intervals during multiple drug therapy (mdt). the patients were assigned to two groups for treatment following who guidelines: paucibacillary (pb) and multibacillary (mb). immunoglobulin levels, specific antibodies, skin-test responses to different soluble mycobacterial antigens (new tuberculins), and in vitr ...19947963908
an eight-year field trial on antileprosy vaccines among high-risk household contacts in the calcutta metropolis.one-hundred-seventy-nine lepromin-negative household contacts were vaccinated with heat-killed mycobacterium leprae, bcg, or a combination of the two. vaccination induced lepromin positivity in 131 of these contacts. over an 8-year follow-up period, 12 lepromin-positive contacts developed leprosy, all tuberculoid; while 2 lepromin-negative vaccinated contacts developed leprosy, both lepromatous. overall, 7.8% of the vaccinated contacts developed the disease. seven-hundred-fourteen household cont ...19947963911
transmission of leprosy in nude mice through thorn pricks.the dorsum of the feet of 10 nude mice was smeared with 10(7) mycobacterium leprae and then pricked with cactus thorns contaminated with m. leprae. in 15 months five of them developed lepromatous nodules at the infected site and disseminated lesions in the ears, nose, tail and the organs of the reticuloendothelial system. penetrating injuries through unprotected skin contaminated with m. leprae from the environment may play a role in the transmission of leprosy in humans.19947963912
oxidation of sphingolipids by mycobacterium leprae. 19947963924
delayed-type hypersensitivity, mycobacterial vaccines and protective immunity.there is a longstanding debate over the implications of natural and vaccine-induced delayed type hypertensivity for protective immunity to mycobacterial infections. the identification of correlates of vaccine-induced protective immunity should help explain the inconsistent behaviour of bcg vaccines in different populations and assist in efforts to devise improved vaccines. more than 70,000 subjects in karonga district, northern malawi were skin tested with soluble antigens of the tubercle and le ...19947967984
titration of numbers of human-derived mycobacterium leprae required to progressively oxidize 14c-palmitic acid and release 14co2.mycobacterium leprae was isolated from skin-punch biopsies of 2 untreated lepromatous leprosy patients. the bacteria were enumerated, diluted 10-fold and cultured in middlebrook 7h9 medium supplemented with albumin, dextrose, catalase and 14c-palmitic acid. the cultures were incubated at 33 degrees c in a modified buddemeyer radiorespiratory detection vessel. those cultures containing at least 10(7) mycobacteria demonstrated a progressive evolution of 14co2.19947968182
comment: the serodiagnosis of leprosy. 19947968190
evaluation of chemiluminescence, procoagulant activity and antigen presentation by monocytes from lepromatous leprosy patients with or without reactional episodes.in this study, we evaluated the activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc), isolated from treated and untreated lepromatous leprosy patients, from lepromatous leprosy patients during and after reactional episodes (erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) and reversal reaction (rr)), and from normal healthy individuals. we determined reactive oxygen intermediate (roi) production, procoagulant activity (pca) and hla-dr antigen expression of monocytes, besides lymphoproliferation, both in the pre ...19947968194
evolution of cellular and humoral response against tuberculin and antigen 85 complex during intravesical treatment with bcg of superficial bladder cancer.prophylactic treatment with bacillus calmette-guerin (bcg) is an established and effective therapy of bladder cancer. the antitumor effect of bcg seems to be largely related to cellular immunological mechanisms, although its precise mode of action is unknown. antitumor response of bcg seems to be initiated by the attachment of bcg to bladder wall via fibronectin (fn). the cellular immune response against tuberculin ppd and the major secreted bcg antigen (fibronectin-binding ag 85 complex) has be ...19947976857
clinical trial of fusidic acid for lepromatous leprosy.fusidic acid was assessed for antileprosy activity in nine lepromatous leprosy patients. patients received fusidic acid at either 500 mg/day for 12 weeks or 750 mg/day for 4 weeks followed by 500 mg/day for 8 weeks. all patients showed time-dependent clinical improvement and decreases in bacillary morphological index, radiorespirometric activity and pcr signal, and in serum phenolic glycolipid i. fusidic acid appears to be a weakly bactericidal antileprosy agent which may have a role in the mult ...19947979302
cotrifazide. 19947983395
simpler procedures solve difficult problems. 19947983396
nucleotide sequence of the 85b-protein gene of mycobacterium bovis bcg and mycobacterium tuberculosis.we have cloned and sequenced the genes coding for the 85b antigen from m. bovis bcg and m. tuberculosis. within this gene, the only difference in sequence between m. bovis bcg and m. tuberculosis corresponds, respectively, to a c-->t yielding a leu-->phe replacement at position 100 of the mature 85b protein. therefore as we described previously for the 85a gene, there is also very little variation between these two species within the 85b gene.19947987013
[gerhard armauer hansen. the discoverer of mycobacterium leprae]. 19947990545
[ultramicro elisa to the detection of igm antibodies in mycobacterium leprae using dry blood samples].in this work the adequate conditions for the detection of igm antibodies to pgl-i in eluates from dried blood spots using the umelisa hansen and the suma technology are established. a total of 300 blood donors and 58 leprosy patients samples were studied. for both populations, in the previously established conditions, we compared the results of the eluates from dried blood spots with the serum samples, and was obtained a correlation of 0.919 in blood donors, 0.969 in patients, and 0.954 for the ...19947997788
igg humoral response against the antigen 85 complex homologues in leprosy.antigen 85 complex is the major protein component present in m. bovis bcg culture filtrate (cf). it consists of a family of three proteins: 85a, 85b and 85c. combining isoelectric focusing and western blot analysis, we have previously identified different antigenically related proteins present in the cf of other mycobacteria (m. tuberculosis, m. kansasii, m. avium, m. gordonae, m. fortuitum and m. phlei) using monoclonal antibodies (moabs) directed against the antigen 85 complex of m. bovis bcg. ...19947997854
[leprosy in new caledonia from 1983 to 1992. histopathological and epidemiological data].new caledonia is a south pacific island inhabited by more than 170,000 people: most of them are melanesians or europeans. multidrug therapy for hansen disease has been employed since 1983; so we made an epidemiologic and histopathologic study of the new cases diagnosed for 10 years, from 1983 to 1992. local (clinical, histological, microbiological and immunological) means of diagnosis are described. in new caledonia, the endemic level is lower than in the small neighbouring pacific islands but t ...19948003901
th1-th2 paradigm: insights from leprosy.the mechanism by which t cells and cytokines regulate immune processes in skin can be investigated by studying patients with leprosy. the disease, caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium mycobacterium leprae, forms a spectrum. at one pole, patients with tuberculoid leprosy are able to restrict the growth of the pathogen and their skin lesions are characterized by a predominance of cd4+ t cells and type 1 cytokines including interleukin 2 and interferon gamma. at the opposite pole, patient ...19948006444
purification, characterization, gene sequence, and significance of a bacterioferritin from mycobacterium leprae.the study of tissue-derived mycobacterium leprae provides insights to the immunopathology of leprosy and helps identify broad molecular features necessary for mycobacterial parasitism. a major membrane protein (mmp-ii) of in vivo-derived m. leprae previously recognized (hunter, s.w., b. rivoire, v. mehra, b.r. bloom, and p.j. brennan. 1990. j. biol. chem. 265:14065) was purified from extracts of the organism and partial amino acid sequence obtained. this information allowed recognition, within o ...19948006590
methods in pathology. an improved method for dna diagnosis of leprosy using formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded skin biopsies.to improve the sensitivity of the previously reported polymerase chain reaction (pcr) for the detection of mycobacterium (m.) leprae in the formaldehyde-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, we adapted the pcr designed to amplify an internal 372 bp fragment of a m. leprae-specific repetitive sequence to 39 skin biopsies taken from patients with leprosy of the lepromatous type and tuberculoid type. crude dna samples were prepared from tissue sections that were deparaffinized and subjected to proteina ...19948008750
scale-up production of a recombinant mycobacterium leprae antigen. 19948010659
in vivo susceptibility of mycobacterium leprae to ofloxacin either singly or in combination with rifampicin and rifabutin. anti-leprosy activity of ofloxacin and ansamycins in mice.the antimicrobial effects of ofloxacin against mycobacterium leprae, either alone or in combination with rifampicin and rifabutin, were studied using mouse foot pad assay technique. when used singly, the minimum concentrations of the drugs needed to completely inhibit the growth of mycobacterium leprae in foot pads of mice were 50 mg/kg body weight for ofloxacin and 0.003% and 0.0001%, respectively, for rifampicin and rifabutin. however, excellent synergistic effects were observed when mice were ...19948011013
identification, isolation and sequencing of the reca gene of streptomyces lividans tk24.an internal fragment of the reca gene of streptomyces cattleya was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) employing degenerate oligonucleotide primers. using this fragment as a hybridization probe, a reca homologous gene could be shown in each tested streptomyces strain. a 4.4 kb bamhi fragment which carried the complete reca gene was isolated from streptomyces lividans tk24. sequence analysis suggested that the coding region of the reca gene consists of 1122 bp. the highest similarity ...19948013883
characterization of a mycobacterium leprae antigen related to the secreted mycobacterium tuberculosis protein mpt32.secreted proteins may serve as major targets in the immune response to mycobacteria. to identify potentially secreted mycobacterium leprae antigens, antisera specific for culture filtrate proteins of mycobacterium tuberculosis were used to screen a panel of recombinant antigens selected previously by leprosy patient sera. four potentially secreted antigens were identified by this approach, and one was recognized by antibodies specific for mpt32, a secreted m. tuberculosis protein. the dna coding ...19948262636
a role for natural antibody in the pathogenesis of leprosy: antibody in nonimmune serum mediates c3 fixation to the mycobacterium leprae surface and hence phagocytosis by human mononuclear phagocytes.we have previously determined that complement receptors on human mononuclear phagocytes and complement component c3 in nonimmune serum mediate phagocytosis of the intracellular bacterial pathogen mycobacterium leprae, the agent of leprosy. we have also determined that c3 fixes selectively to the major surface glycolipid of m. leprae, phenolic glycolipid 1 (pgl-1). in this study, we have explored the role of natural antibody in nonimmune serum in c3 fixation and c1q binding to m. leprae and pgl-1 ...19948262640
a colorimetric pcr method for the detection of m. leprae in skin biopsies from leprosy patients.a one-tube nested polymerase chain reaction (pcr) method for the diagnosis of paucibacillary leprosy was developed using the repetitive rlep sequence as a target. detection of the pcr products was simplified by the adaptation of a colorimetric method. the test was specific for mycobacterium leprae, and the sensitivity of the assay was 1 fg of purified genomic m. leprae dna (less than one genome). complete concordance was seen between the development of color and resolution on agarose gels. the r ...19947868947
protective effect of bcg against leprosy and its subtypes: a case-control study in southern vietnam.a case-control study was conducted to assess the protective effect of intradermal bcg against leprosy and its subtypes in southern vietnam. a total of 177 cases were selected with a distribution by subtypes as follows: 38 tt, 23 bt, 51 bb, 36 bl, 22 ll, and 7 indeterminate. two controls were matched with a case for age, sex, ethnic group, socioeconomic status, and district area. the odds ratio assessing the protective effect of bcg varied from 0.44 (0.19-1.03) in the bb subtype to 3.00 (0.24-37. ...19947868950
epidemiological studies in children of a low-endemic region, a high-endemic region, and dwellers of a leprosy colony: evaluation of anti-nd-bsa antibodies and lepromin response.children residing in a low-endemic region (ler), a high-endemic region (her), and a leprosy colony contact population (cp) were evaluated for lepromin response as well as reactivity to the mycobacterium leprae-specific synthetic antigen, nd-bsa. the mean reactivity to nd-bsa in the ler group (od 0.03 +/- 0.03, n = 71) was significantly lower (p < 0.001) than that in the contact population (od 0.14 +/- 0.09, n = 140) as well as the population residing in the her (od 0.09 +/- 0.08, n = 1340). elis ...19947868951
a longitudinal study of immunologic reactivity in leprosy patients treated with immunotherapy.more than 150 leprosy patients treated with multidrug therapy (mdt) plus immunotherapy (imt) with a mixture of heat-killed mycobacterium leprae plus live bcg were studied in relation to humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. many previously had received prolonged sulfone monotherapy. patients received 2 to 10 doses of imt in a period of 1 to 3 years, depending upon their clinical form of leprosy. the patients were followed up for 5 to 10 years with repeated determinations of antibody levels ...19947868953
efficacy of minocycline in single dose and at 100 mg twice daily for lepromatous leprosy.a clinical trial of minocycline in a total of 10 patients with previously untreated lepromatous leprosy was conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy of a single, initial, 200-mg dose and 100 mg twice daily of minocycline for a total duration of up to 3 months. patients improved remarkably quickly. although single-dose therapy did not result in a significant killing of mycobacterium leprae, viable m. leprae were cleared from the dermis regularly by 3 months of twice-daily therapy, a rate simil ...19947868955
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