Publications

social and demographic aspects of a leprosy epidemic on a polynesian atoll: implications of pattern.	this study reports the results of field research on a leprosy epidemic among the kapingamarangi people, polynesians living in two communities on ponape island and kapingamarangi atoll in the federated states of micronesia. the patterns of infection in the two communities are seen to replicate in detail patterns of personal mobility by age and gender and patterns of kinship and friendship relations that order people's social interactions in the communities. these patterns of demographic and socia ...	1987	3655462
biochemical characteristics and fatty acid compositions of some armadillo-derived mycobacteria and their relation to mycobacterium gordonae.	the long-chain components of 75 strains of mycobacteria, cultivated from mycobacterium leprae-infected or non-infected armadillos, and of eight clinical and 15 environmental isolates of m. gordonae, were compared. four major groups could be distinguished based on the presence of 10-methyloctadecanoic (tuberculostearic) and 2-methyl 3-hydroxyeicosanoic acids and secondary alcohols (2-octadecanol and 2-eicosanol). some heterogeneity was found in strains assigned to m. gordonae: the characteristic ...	1987	3655731
effective prophylactic measures against accidental inoculation with live mycobacterium leprae in laboratory and hospital workers.		1987	3669870
mycobacterium leprae-reactive t-cell clones isolated from polar lepromatous and tuberculoid leprosy patients.	t-cell clones capable of mounting a proliferative response to mycobacterium leprae were obtained in three leprosy patients (two polar lepromatous and one polar tuberculoid) either from m. leprae-activated or from protein-purified derivative-activated polyclonal t lymphoblasts. all these clones expressed the cd4 surface marker. some of them proliferated to the antigen only in the presence of interleukin-2. a majority expressed cross-reactive responses to other mycobacteria. clones obtained from t ...	1987	2830893
the leprosy bacillus: a microbe-dependent microbe.	since the discovery of the leprosy bacillus, cultivable mycobacteria were regularly found in lepratic tissues of humans and armadillos. unpublished data indicate that professor hugo preisz isolated and collected several cultures of unidentified cultivable strains of mycobacteria from leprosy sufferers. recent findings suggest that mycobacterium leprae is a microbe-dependent, mycobactin-deficient microorganism. the author proposes the concept that secondary mycobacteria found in leprosy cases are ...	1987	2831691
biosynthesis and scavenging of purines by pathogenic mycobacteria including mycobacterium leprae.	purine biosynthesis de novo could not be detected in suspensions of mycobacterium leprae isolated from armadillo tissue. in contrast, non-growing suspensions of other pathogenic mycobacteria, also isolated from infected host tissue did synthesize purines. rates of synthesis, judged by incorporation of [2-14c]glycine or [3-14c]serine into nucleic acid purines were 600 times higher in m. microti and 110 times higher in m. avium--both isolated from infected mouse tissue--than the lowest possible ra ...	1987	2833559
auramine staining in histopathology sections.	auramine staining was done on 65 histopathological sections from different types of treated leprosy cases which were negative by fite-farraco stain. all the sections except one showed auramine positive organisms. the organisms were mostly coccoid except in bl/ll cases where beaded bacilli could be seen.	1987	2454272
can mycobacterium leprae enter the body through unbroken epithelium?		1987	2448403
characterization of antibody-reactive epitopes on the 65-kilodalton protein of mycobacterium leprae.	twenty-three monoclonal antibodies (mabs) prepared in seven different laboratories were studied, all of which recognized the 65-kilodalton (kda) protein of mycobacterium leprae as determined by western blotting or gel radioimmunoassay or both. fourteen of the mabs recognized different epitopes, as evaluated by cross-competition studies using radiolabeled mab and unlabeled inhibitors; the species specificity of these epitopes was defined by nitrocellulose dot blot immunoassays with bacterial soni ...	1987	2435658
comparative study of immunizing and delayed hypersensitivity eliciting antigens of mycobacterium leprae, m. tuberculosis, m. vaccae, and m. bovis (bcg).	a variety of mycobacterial antigens have been associated with the delayed-type hypersensitivity (dth) reactions in human beings and animals. an attempt has been made in the present study to identify the major antigen fractions of mycobacterium leprae and m. tuberculosis responsible for the elicitation of dth and to evaluate their specificity by a comparison with the antigens of two closely related mycobacteria, bcg and m. vaccae. guinea pigs and mice were sensitized with native or heat-killed m. ...	1987	2435824
purification of the 65 kd protein from mycobacterium gordonae and use in skin test response to mycobacterium leprae.	the cell wall-associated protein of mycobacterium gordonae (mr = 65,000) was purified by affinity chromatography using a murine monoclonal antibody produced in response to the crossreactive 65 kd protein of m. leprae. the affinity-purified material was analyzed for purity by protein and carbohydrate analyses, sds-page, and immunoblotting. the final preparation contained a major protein band on sds-page analysis (mr = 65,000) with no detectable carbohydrates. the affinity fraction was prepared at ...	1987	2435825
orientation staining for the demonstration of mycobacterium leprae in semithin sections.	in spurr-embedded biopsies for ultrastructural examinations, mycobacterium leprae hardly differed from the surrounding tissues using the staining technique of richardson. also, the usual histological staining methods of ziehl-neelsen and fite did not achieve positive results for the determination of m. leprae. therefore, we applied the methylene blue-borax and basic fuchsin technique for the demonstration of the bacilli in plastic-embedded tissue of 11 patients suffering from hansen's disease. i ...	1987	2435826
clinical significance of changes in serum proteins, immunoglobulins, and autoantibodies in leprosy.	changes in the level of acute phase reactants such as c-reactive protein (crp), serum globulins, and autoantibodies have been reported previously in patients with leprosy, particularly at the lepromatous end of the spectrum. the clinical significance of these findings was investigated by comparing the same parameters of humoral immune function in populations of australian aboriginals with stable treated leprosy and relevant contact groups including a) noninfected european sporadic contacts and b ...	1987	2439620
comparison of radiometric macrophage assay and fluorescein diacetate/ethidium bromide staining for evaluation of m. leprae viability.	earlier studies from our laboratory reported that a radiometric mycobacterium leprae resident macrophage assay was a useful in vitro indicator of bacillary viability with good correlation with the established mouse foot pad model. the present study compares our assay with the recently described fluorescein diacetate/ethidium bromide (fda/eb) method. m. leprae extracted from the dermal lesions of 73 bacilliferous leprosy patients were tested concurrently by both techniques. good correlation (r = ...	1987	2439621
mapping of t cell epitopes using recombinant antigens and synthetic peptides.	two complementary approaches were used to determine the epitope specificity of clonal and polyclonal human t lymphocytes reactive with the 65-kd antigen of mycobacterium leprae. a recombinant dna sublibrary constructed from portions of the 65-kd gene was used to map t cell determinants within amino acid sequences 101-146 and 409-526. independently, potential t cell epitopes within the protein were predicted based on an empirical analysis of specific patterns in the amino acid sequence. of six pe ...	1987	2440673
the etiologic agents of leprosy and tuberculosis share an immunoreactive protein antigen with the vaccine strain mycobacterium bovis bcg.	the amino acid sequences of the 65-kilodalton antigens of mycobacterium leprae, mycobacterium tuberculosis, and mycobacterium bovis bcg display greater than 95% homology.	1987	2440811
a rapid method for viability and drug sensitivity of mycobacterium leprae cultured in macrophages and using fluorescein diacetate.	the ability of viable m. leprae to hydrolyze fluorescein diacetate and retain fluorescein inside the bacteria was used to identify viable m. leprae inside the cultured in vitro macrophages. the subjective microscopic count of the fda test was demonstrated as useful routine test by confirming the results obtained therein with a quantitative and non subjective measurement of fluorescence in spectrofluorimeter. using this method loss of viability of m. leprae in presence of dapsone and rifampicin w ...	1987	2440960
demonstration of mycobacterium leprae antigen in nerves of tuberculoid leprosy.	twenty nerve biopsies of tuberculoid leprosy patients who showed no acid-fast bacilli in their skin smears or in tissue biopsies, were stained for mycobacterial antigens using anti-bacille calmette-gúerin (bcg) by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. adjacent parts of some of these nerves were examined for the presence of osmiophilic bacilli under the transmission electron microscope. eight of the 20 nerves were both clinically and histologically uninvolved. all the 20 involved nerves showed pr ...	1987	2441563
studies on the antigenic specificity of mycobacterium leprae. i. isoelectric and chromatofocusing separation.	cell sonicates of mycobacterium leprae and other mycobacteria were subjected to isoelectric focusing and chromatofocusing to evaluate their protein antigens and to determine if the patterns were significantly different. isoelectric focusing showed that the proteins of all mycobacteria focused within the ph range of 3.5 to 5.5, except those of m. leprae which extended beyond 5.5 to 6.5. these studies have indicated for the first time that the protein antigens of mycobacteria are acidic in nature. ...	1987	2442924
in situ identification of activated ta1+ t lymphocytes in human leprosy skin lesions.	using a monoclonal antibody, anti-ta1, that identifies antigen-activated t lymphocytes in vitro, we sought to identify activated t lymphocytes in leprosy skin lesions. greater numbers of ta1 positive t lymphocytes were observed in tuberculoid leprosy, lepromin skin tests, and reversal reactions as compared with lepromatous leprosy or erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) (p less than 0.001). with a double-staining technique, we found that the majority of these activated t lymphocytes were of the helpe ...	1987	2443587
in vitro cultivation of an acid-fast nocardioform chemoautotroph from mouse footpad-passaged strain of leprosy bacillus.		1987	2444533
studies on the antigenic specificity of mycobacterium leprae. ii. immunological characterization.	antigens from untreated and autoclaved mycobacterium leprae obtained through chromatofocusing were tested for their ability to both induce as well as elicit skin reactivity in guinea pigs sensitized either with homologous and heterologous mycobacteria or with the fractions derived from autoclaved m. leprae. in former studies, of the several antigen-positive fractions, one showed specific activity and the remaining others cross-reactivity, as indicated by studies of hypersensitivity. the fraction ...	1987	2445123
studies on the antigenic specificity of mycobacterium leprae. iii. further studies on immunological characterization.	the ability of the various protein antigens of mycobacterium leprae to induce as well as detect delayed type hypersensitivity has been confirmed by studies in mice. additionally, one of the fractions obtained from untreated m. leprae has been shown to possess specificity to the organism through immuno-analysis, thus confirming previous observations on skin-reactivity in guinea pigs. sds-pag electrophoresis has shown that this fraction contains a single antigen. a suggestion has been made that th ...	1987	2445124
leprosy and the leprosy bacillus: recent developments in characterization of antigens and immunology of the disease.		1987	2446563
vaccines against leprosy.		1987	2883495
[peripheral nerve lesions of experimental leprosy in monkeys. iv. relationship between progress of histopathological findings and anatomical location of peripheral nerves].		1987	3149270
rifabutin and rifapentine compared with rifampin against mycobacterium leprae in mice.		1987	3032088
mycobacterium leprae-burdened macrophages are refractory to activation by gamma interferon.	mycobacterium leprae grows to enormous numbers in the nu/nu mouse footpad, producing granulomas resembling those of lepromatous leprosy in humans. footpad granuloma cells gorged with m. leprae were established in primary cell culture to examine their functional capabilities. these cells were classified as macrophages by the following criteria: positive staining for nonspecific esterase, reduction of nitro blue tetrazolium during phagocytosis of candida albicans, possession of fc receptors, and p ...	1987	3100449
a simple new method for using antigens separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to stimulate lymphocytes in vitro after converting bands cut from western blots into antigen-bearing particles.	the individual antigenic components present in microgram quantities of complex mixtures can be separated reproducibly by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred onto nitrocellulose blots. we report that the ng quantities of antigen present in single lines cut from such western blots can be used to induce maximal lymphoproliferative responses in 30-60 microtitre wells. in order to achieve this the excised lines of antigen-bearing nitrocellulose sheet must be converted into antigen-bear ...	1987	3104476
the relation between allergy and immunity in leprosy.		1987	3104515
genes for the major protein antigens of mycobacterium tuberculosis: the etiologic agents of tuberculosis and leprosy share an immunodominant antigen.	mycobacterium tuberculosis genes encoding immunologically relevant proteins were isolated by systematically screening a lambda gt11 recombinant dna expression library with a collection of murine monoclonal antibodies directed against protein antigens of this pathogen. these antibodies, previously characterized by a world health organization workshop on monoclonal antibodies against mycobacteria, were used to isolate dna sequences encoding five major protein antigens of this pathogen. to evaluate ...	1987	3104901
periodic acid in the staining of acid-fast bacilli in tissue section.		1987	3105515
mycobacterium leprae antigen-induced suppression of t cell proliferation in vitro.	the extent to which m. leprae and its products induced suppression of t lymphocyte proliferation in vitro was evaluated. m. leprae antigens suppressed t cell proliferation in response to mitogens and antigens in both lepromatous and tuberculoid patients, as well as controls never exposed to m. leprae or m. leprae endemic areas. both soluble and particulate fractions of m. leprae were found to suppress proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. the extent of suppression was inversely related to th ...	1987	3106496
lepromin-induced lymphoproliferative response of experimental leprosy monkeys: regulatory role of monocyte and lymphocyte subsets.	we investigated the immunological status of seven normal, control mangabey monkeys and 23 mangabey monkeys experimentally inoculated with mangabey-origin mycobacterium leprae. clinically, these monkeys were divided into three broad groups: a recently inoculated group, a resistant group, and a susceptible group. the resistant group included 11 monkeys, seven of which showed no clinical sign of disease to date and four of which had shown local disease that partially regressed spontaneously. the su ...	1987	2953794
[a preliminary study on the serological activity of deacetylated phenolic glycolipid from m. leprae].		1987	2955923
regulatory role of fcr+ and fcr- monocyte subsets in mycobacterium leprae-induced lymphoproliferative response in vitro.	we investigated nine rhesus monkeys (macaca mulatta) inoculated with mycobacterium leprae and three normal human contacts. peripheral blood monocytes were separated into fc receptor positive (fcr+) and fc receptor negative (fcr-) fractions, and their regulatory role in the lymphoproliferative response in vitro to m. leprae was studied. fcr- monocytes had strong antigen presentation activity and produced no suppressor effect while fcr+ monocytes had weak antigen presentation activity and produced ...	1987	2957129
[evaluation of blocking agents for elisa in the detection of leprosy antibody].		1987	2958162
type 1 reactions in leprosy--heterogeneity in t-cell functions related to the background leprosy type.	nineteen each of paucibacillary borderline tuberculoid (bt) and multibacillary borderline borderline (bb)/borderline lepromatous (bl) leprosy patients undergoing type 1 reactions were compared with nonreactional stable patients of the appropriate leprosy type. in the bt reactional group, both phytohemagglutinin-induced and, more importantly, antigen-induced lymphoproliferation was reduced in 80%-90% of the patients. on the other hand, leukocyte migration inhibition was reduced in 40% and remaine ...	1987	2958570
immunosuppression and cellular immunity reactions in leprosy patients treated with a mixture of mycobacterium leprae and bcg.	suppressor reactivity was studied in a group of leprosy patients before and after immunotherapy with a mixture of mycobacterium leprae and bcg. the treatment increases the responses in lymphocyte transformation tests to levels which are comparable to those observed in bt-tt patients and reduces suppressor activity. the soluble extract of m. leprae appears to be more sensitive than purified intact bacilli in the lymphocyte transformation tests, but this preparation did not induce suppressor react ...	1987	2963084
t cell defect in lepromatous leprosy is reversible in vitro in the absence of exogenous growth factors.	t lymphocytes from patients with lepromatous leprosy (ll) characteristically fail to respond to mycobacterium leprae. this specific immunologic defect is thought to contribute to the aggressive clinical course that typifies patients with ll. we report that although fresh cd4+ (helper) t cells from most ll patients are specifically unresponsive to m. leprae, after culture in medium alone for 48 hr the same cells respond to m. leprae antigens. the recovery of t cell function is specific for m. lep ...	1987	2947952
lepromin-induced suppressor cells in lepromatous leprosy.	the presence or absence of suppressor cells in leprosy patients was investigated by measuring peripheral blood lepromin-induced suppression of the con a response. significant suppressor activity was measured in 15 of 15 untreated or recently treated patients with lepromatous leprosy and 3 of 5 patients with borderline lepromatous leprosy. in addition, in patients with lepromatous leprosy, suppressor cell activity was found in 10 of 14 patients that had been under treatment for more than 1 year b ...	1987	2948676
[intercellular relations in the immunology of leprosy].		1986	2951961
possible role of helper and cytolytic t cells in mycobacterial infections.		1986	2952852
hla class ii restricted helper and suppressor clones reactive with mycobacterium leprae.		1986	2952853
a follow up of t-cell subsets and of anti-m. leprae antibody titer as measured by the fla-abs test in melanesian leprosy patients under polychemotherapy.	melanesian leprosy patients from new caledonia were studied for the following parameters during the course of polychemotherapy: peripheral blood t-cell subsets, as identified in an immunofluorescence assay with monoclonal antibodies okt3 ("pan-t"), okt4 ("helper/inducer"), and okt8 ("cytotoxic-suppressor"), and anti-mycobacterium leprae antibodies in the serum, as measured by the fluorescent leprosy antibody absorption test. a group of melanesian healthy subjects with no known exposure to m. lep ...	1986	2940306
genetically restricted suppressor t-cell clones derived from lepromatous leprosy lesions.	leprosy is a spectral disease in which immune responses to mycobacterium leprae correlate with the clinical, bacteriological and histopathological manifestations of disease, so study of its pathology provides insights into immunoregulatory mechanisms in man. at the tuberculoid pole, patients have few lesions in the skin which contain rare organisms and are able to mount strong cell-mediated immune responses to m. leprae antigens. in contrast, at the lepromatous pole, patients have disseminated s ...	1986	2942780
[preliminary study on the serological activity of phenolic glycolipid and its application to leprosy].		1986	2943444
ciprofloxacin (4-quinolone) and mycobacterium leprae.		1986	2943954
suppressor t lymphocytes from lepromatous leprosy skin lesions.	the immune response in leprosy forms a spectrum with lepromatous leprosy patients exhibiting specific unresponsiveness to antigens of mycobacterium leprae. this unresponsiveness is thought to be related to the prevalence of t8-positive lymphocyte in these lepromatous lesions. to analyze the immunoregulatory function of these t8 cells, we developed simple procedures to extract lymphocytes from skin biopsy specimens of patients with leprosy. these lymphocytes were sorted for t8 and t4 positive cel ...	1986	2944966
in vivo repackaging of recombinant cosmid molecules for analyses of salmonella typhimurium, streptococcus mutans, and mycobacterial genomic libraries.	strains of escherichia coli k-12 were constructed that permitted the amplification of in vitro-packaged recombinant cosmid-transducing particles by in vivo repackaging of recombinant cosmid molecules. thermal induction of these thermoinducible, excision-defective lysogens containing recombinant cosmid molecules yielded high titers of packaged recombinant cosmids and low levels of pfu. these strains were used to amplify packaged recombinant cosmid libraries of mycobacterium leprae, mycobacterium ...	1986	2937735
mycobacterium leprae fails to stimulate phagocytic cell superoxide anion generation.	mycobacterium leprae is an intracellular pathogen that is ingested by and proliferates within cells of the monocyte/macrophage series. mechanisms by which intracellular pathogens resist destruction may involve failure to elicit a phagocyte "respiratory burst" or resistance to toxic oxygen derivatives and lysosomal enzymes. we have studied the ability of m. leprae and mycobacterium bovis bcg to stimulate the generation of superoxide anion (o2-) in vitro by human blood neutrophils and monocytes an ...	1986	3002986
characteristics of human t-cell clones from bcg and killed m. leprae vaccinated subjects and tuberculosis patients. recognition of recombinant mycobacterial antigens.		1986	3106732
peptides as potential immunodiagnostic reagents to detect mycobacterial infections.		1986	3106733
analysis of a leprosy-specific antibody epitope.		1986	3106734
lepromin stimulates interleukin-2 production and interleukin-2 receptor expression in situ in lepromatous leprosy patients.		1986	3106736
strategies in the development of new drugs and drug combinations against leprosy, demonstrated on the example of folate and gyrase inhibitors.		1986	3033412
adenylate kinase activity in mycobacterium leprae.	adenylate kinase (atp:amp phosphotransferase, ec 2.7.4.3) was detected in partially purified preparations of cell-free extracts of mycobacterium leprae. the apparent km values of m. leprae adenylate kinase for adp and mg2+ were 1 x 10(-4) m, respectively. the enzyme was heat-labile: loss of activity by 80% at 45 degrees c and over 90% at 60 degrees c occurred within 5 min. m. leprae adenylate kinase was distinct from armadillo adenylate kinase in respect of affinity for substrate and heat-sensit ...	1986	3011966
construction of genomic libraries of mycobacterial origin: identification of recombinants encoding mycobacterial-specific proteins.	a complete genomic library from mycobacterium vaccae (2785 recombinants) and a partial genomic library of m. leprae and bcg (300 and 1750 clones, respectively) were constructed in the plasmid pbr322. bam hi was selected as the restriction endonuclease for obtaining dna cleavage products. evidence was obtained for limited expression of the cloned mycobacterial dna inserts in escherichia coli. a recombinant has been identified which codes for antigen immunoreactive with rabbit anti-m. leprae antib ...	1986	3018107
cloning and expression of mycobacterium bovis bcg dna in "streptomyces lividans".	the ability of "streptomyces lividans" to use the expression signals of genes from mycobacterium bovis bcg was tested in vivo by using gene fusions. random dna fragments from m. bovis bcg were inserted into promoter-probe plasmids in escherichia coli and in "s. lividans." comparison with promoter activity detected with random dna fragments from the respective hosts suggested that "s. lividans" efficiently utilizes a high proportion of mycobacterial promoters, whereas a smaller fraction are expre ...	1986	3020007
t90/44 (9.3 antigen). a cell surface molecule with a function in human t cell activation.	t90/44 is a cell surface antigen which is present on human t cells of the helper and cytotoxic subsets and which binds the 9.3 monoclonal antibody (9.3 mab). it is expressed in the form of 90-kda disulfide-bonded dimers of a 44-kda polypeptide and of free 44-kda subunits. the function of t90/44 was investigated in a series of t cell function assays. 9.3 mab was found to inhibit the activation of class ii-restricted cloned t helper cells derived from leprosy patients and reactive with m. leprae a ...	1986	3021470
separation of mycobacterium leprae from contamination with armadillo-liver-derived "pigment" particles.	mycobacterium leprae isolated from armadillo liver by the widely used immlep protocol is sometimes contaminated with a particulate "pigment." this paper describes a simple, efficient, and rapid method for purifying large quantities of contaminated bacteria, which may readily be used as an additional step added at the end of the protocol when necessary. the process involves a discontinuous percoll gradient and generates an essentially pure fraction containing greater than 90% of the original bact ...	1986	3029249
a simplified serological test for leprosy based on a 3,6-di-o-methylglucose-containing synthetic antigen.	the recent advent of synthetic antigens containing the mycobacterium leprae-specific epitope, 3,6-di-o-methyl-beta-d-glucopyranoside, has allowed the development of simple specific serological tests for leprosy. the incorporation of one such product, 8-carbonyloctyl o-[4-o-(3,6-di-o-methyl-beta-d-glucopyranosyl)-alpha-l- rhamnopyranoside]-bsa, into a simple "spot" test, diffusion-in-gel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa), allowed an over 90% detection rate of untreated lepromatous leprosy ...	1986	3080916
human t-cell clones with reactivity to mycobacterium leprae as tools for the characterization of potential vaccines against leprosy.	t-cell clones with the t4 phenotype were established from patients with tuberculoid leprosy. the antigen reactivity of these clones ranged from stringent specificity for mycobacterium leprae to broad cross-reactivity with other mycobacteria. killed m. leprae had a weak stimulatory capacity which could be enhanced by ultrasonication. among the three candidate antileprosy vaccines, m. leprae, m. bovis bcg, and the icrc (indian cancer research center) strain, the last was superior in stimulating cr ...	1986	3081446
immunity to leprosy. iii. the in vitro induction of b lymphocyte proliferation by mycobacteria.	the development of murine proliferative response assays has been initiated to begin to evaluate t-lymphocyte responses to the antigens of mycobacterium leprae. in this study, m. leprae and 13 related strains of mycobacteria have been tested for stimulatory effects in proliferation assays using murine spleen, thymus or lymph node cultures. a number of mycobacteria were found to directly stimulate the proliferation of spleen and lymph node cells of all mouse strains tested including c3h/hej mice. ...	1986	3086467
lack of mycobacterium leprae-specific uptake in schwann cells.	among mycobacteria, mycobacterium leprae have a unique property to infect peripheral nerves, which is the cause of a variety of debilities seen in leprosy. the possibility of selective uptake of m. leprae by schwann cells was studied using a rat schwannoma cell line 33b and rat sciatic nerve-derived schwann cells. m. leprae were phagocytosed by 33b cells but so also were seven other mycobacteria ("mycobacterium w," bcg, m. tuberculosis h37rv, m. nonchromogenicum, m. vaccae, icrc bacillus, and m. ...	1986	3086468
local and systemic effects of intradermal recombinant interferon-gamma in patients with lepromatous leprosy.	evidence that interferon-gamma may be a physiologic macrophage-activating factor, and that macrophage activation may be defective in lepromatous leprosy, led us to test the effects of intradermal injection of low doses of recombinant interferon-gamma in six patients with this disease. interferon-gamma, 1 or 10 micrograms, was administered daily by jet gun for three days into a single cutaneous lesion. a biopsy specimen was taken from the injection site on the sixth study day and compared with sp ...	1986	3086725
detection of mycobacterial antigens in leprosy serum immune complex.	the antigens from immune complexes of sera from patients with mycobacterial diseases were released by sodium dodecyl sulfate. the antigenic activity of the released proteins was tested by agar gel diffusion and immunoelectrophoresis. this simple method provided direct evidence for the presence of mycobacterial antigens in the immune complexes of sera from patients with leprosy and tuberculosis.	1986	3088033
effect of recombinant interferon-gamma on hydrogen peroxide-releasing capacity of monocyte-derived macrophages from patients with lepromatous leprosy.	monocyte-derived macrophages from 14 patients with lepromatous leprosy respond to rifn-gamma with an enhanced secretion of h2o2 in a fashion similar to that of cells obtained from normal donors. the activation is not dependent on the cutaneous bacterial index, the length of treatment, or the stage and activity of the disease. h2o2 release can be triggered in these cells both by phorbol myristate acetate and by intact irradiated mycobacterium leprae. uptake of m. leprae by both normal donors' and ...	1986	3088117
structure and antigenicity of the phosphorylated lipopolysaccharide antigens from the leprosy and tubercle bacilli.	a family of major arabinose- and mannose-containing phosphorylated lipopolysaccharides was isolated from mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis. the only antigenic member of the family, lipoarabinomannan (lam)-b, was purified by anion exchange and gel filtration chromatography in detergent and recovered in large quantities (15 mg/g of bacteria). it yielded a broad diffuse band on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis but appeared homogeneous by this criterion and gel filtration. beside ...	1986	3091602
mycobacterium leprae-specific lyt-2+ t lymphocytes with cytolytic activity.	mice were immunized intradermally with 10(7) irradiated mycobacterium leprae organisms, and draining lymph nodes were collected after 4 weeks. lymph node cells were restimulated in vitro with soluble m. leprae antigen and accessory cells. the resulting t-cell line was propagated in vitro in the presence of m. leprae antigen, accessory cells, and interleukin-2-containing supernatants from concanavalin a-stimulated rat spleen cells. long-term cultured t cells were thy-1+ l3t4- lyt-2+ as revealed b ...	1986	3096892
biochemical studies on mycobacterium leprae.	very little information is available on the basic biology of mycobacterium leprae. it is not known why the organism fails to grow in bacteriological media or in cell cultures and why it has an unusual predilection for certain tissues in the human host where cells derived from the neural crest occur (e.g. skin, peripheral nerves adrenal medulla). biochemical studies have revealed that m. leprae contains an unusual form of the enzyme diphenoloxidase which has not been detected in other mycobacteri ...	1986	3098865
serological tests for leprosy.		1986	2869264
expression of mycobacterium leprae genes from a streptococcus mutans promoter in escherichia coli k-12.	genomic libraries of mycobacterium leprae dna partially digested with pst i were constructed in the expression vector pya626, which contains the promoter region from the streptococcus mutans gene encoding aspartate beta-semialdehyde dehydrogenase, which is very efficiently expressed in escherichia coli. we have detected several clones that complement a mutation in the citrate synthase gene of e. coli. southern blot analysis demonstrated that the complementing dna was m. leprae dna. sodium dodecy ...	1986	2869492
biochemical studies on mycobacterium leprae.	very little information is available on the basic biology of mycobacterium leprae. it is not known why the organism fails to grow in bacteriological media or in cell cultures and why it has an unusual predilection for certain tissues in the human host where cells derived from the neural crest occur (e.g. skin, peripheral nerves, adrenal medulla). biochemical studies have revealed that m. leprae contains an unusual form of the enzyme diphenoloxidase which has not been detected in other mycobacter ...	1986	2874208
[morphologic structure of mycobacterium leprae].		1986	2445724
[anti-m. leprae antibodies and the serology of leprosy].		1986	2436432
solid phase peptide synthesis of epitopes that react with monoclonal antibodies to the 65,000 dalton protein of mycobacterium leprae.		1986	2437421
characterization of mycobacterial species specificity of 14 separate epitopes which reacted with monoclonal antibodies to the 65,000 molecular weight protein molecule of mycobacterium leprae.		1986	2437422
hansen's disease (leprosy). diagnosis by aspiration biopsy of lymph nodes.	a 61-year-old male native of mexico presented with generalized enlargement of lymph nodes. fine needle aspiration (fna) biopsy established lepromatous leprosy as the cause of the lymphadenopathy. the cytologic findings included abundant, frequently multinucleated histiocytes (globus cells), the cytoplasm of which showed multiple vacuoles; cytoplasmic membrane-bound vacuoles were seen free in the background. the vacuoles contained large numbers of acid-fast bacilli. globus cells, while characteri ...	1986	2421510
m. leprae and ppd-triggered t cell lines in tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy.	proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmc) to mycobacterium leprae and bacillus calmette guerin-derived purified protein derivative (ppd) were studied in the presence or absence of interleukin 2 (il 2) in high m. leprae responders (tuberculoid leprosy patients and healthy subjects) and low m. leprae responders (lepromatous leprosy patients). high responders in most cases developed a strong proliferative response to both antigens in the absence of il 2. additional il 2 a ...	1986	2422278
hla class-ii-restricted mycobacterium leprae-reactive t-cell clones from leprosy patients established with a minimal requirement for autologous mononuclear cells.	this report describes an effective method for the cloning of mycobacterium leprae-reactive t lymphocytes with epstein-barr-virus transformed autologous b cells as antigen-presenting cells. the two advantages of this method are that it drastically reduces the number of autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (less than 10(7) cells) needed to obtain and propagate these t-cell clones (tlc), and that it enables us to expand individual tlc to large numbers of cells (greater than 10(8)). thus th ...	1986	2422737
investigation of antigen cross-reactivity of mycobacterium leprae-reactive murine t-cell lines and clones.	inguinal lymph node lymphocytes from balb/c mice immunized intradermally with 10(8) 60co-irradiated mycobacterium leprae were cloned by limiting dilution culture. in general, cloned t-cell lines exhibited helper type activity producing interleukin-2, macrophage activation factor and gamma-interferon and lines were further characterized in terms of their cross-reactivities with other species of mycobacteria. m. leprae clones derived after a period of in vitro restimulation were found to cross-rea ...	1986	2423443
learning from leprosy: a perspective on immunology and the third world.		1986	2423599
periodic acid-ethanol gelatin methenamine silver stain for demonstrating m. leprae and myelin in peripheral nerve fibers of leprosy patients.	we have introduced the periodic acid-ethanol gelatin methenamine silver stain for the simultaneous demonstration of mycobacterium leprae and myelin in the peripheral nerves of leprosy patients.	1986	2423620
[staining of mycobacterium leprae: comparison between the lapeyssonnie and causse technic on the one hand and thelep's technic on the other in the evaluation of the bacteriological index].	in the present review, two staining techniques have been compared to evaluate bacteriological index: the lapeyssonnie and causse's technique, used in french speaking africa, and the one recommended by the o.m.s. scientific panel on chemotherapy of leprosy, thelep. it appears that the former facilitates the finding of a greater number of bacilli. more efficient, it is also easier and faster than the latter one and, consequently, more adapted to logistic constraints attached to the fight against e ...	1986	2425213
prevalence and specificity of the enhancing effect of three types of interleukin 2 on t cell responsiveness in 97 lepromatous leprosy patients of mixed ethnic origin.	peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 97 predominantly lepromatous leprosy patients and 11 control subjects were tested in a lymphoproliferative assay for response to mycobacterium leprae (whole and sonicated), and sonicated m. vaccae, m. tuberculosis, and m. scrofulaceum, in the presence and absence of three types of interleukin 2 (il-2) (crude, purified, and recombinant). il-2 enhanced the response to sonicated m. tuberculosis and m. leprae organisms more often in patients than in control su ...	1986	2426020
cloned suppressor t cells from a lepromatous leprosy patient suppress mycobacterium leprae reactive helper t cells.	leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. a characteristic feature of the disease is its remarkable spectrum of clinical symptoms correlating with the cellular immune responsiveness of the patient. at one pole of this spectrum are tuberculoid patients displaying both acquired cell-mediated immunity and delayed type hypersensitivity against the bacillus. at the other pole are lepromatous patients which show a specific t-cell unresponsiveness against m. leprae. in bet ...	1986	2426597
a modification of fite's stain for demonstration of m. leprae in tissue sections.		1986	2427624
viability of mycobacterium leprae: a comparison of morphological index and fluorescent staining techniques in slit-skin smears and m. leprae suspensions.	in a comparison of the estimation of mycobacterium leprae viability by morphology and the fluorescent vital dyes fda/eb and r123/eb, the latter techniques were more satisfactory using suspensions and slit-skin smears of m. leprae bacilli. both fda/eb and r123/eb seem to more accurately reflect viability after freeze/thaw cycles and heating, and are able to detect lower percentages of viable bacilli. in addition, the fluorescent vital dye techniques are both simple and less open to subjective int ...	1986	2427626
a preliminary study on serological activity of a phenolic glycolipid from mycobacterium leprae in sera from patients with leprosy, tuberculosis and normal controls.		1986	2427906
efficient mapping of protein antigenic determinants.	a recombinant dna expression strategy has been used to deduce the amino acid sequences of six different antigenic determinants in a single protein of mycobacterium leprae, the etiologic agent of leprosy. the gene encoding the m. leprae 65-kda antigen was sequenced and a lambda gt11 gene sublibrary was constructed with fragments of the gene. recombinant dna clones producing specific antigenic determinants were isolated by screening with monoclonal antibodies, and the sequences of their insert dna ...	1986	2428046
specific antigen and antibody to mycobacterium leprae in the cryoprecipitate of a patient with lucio phenomenon.	using a sensitive and specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) assay we showed that the cryoglobulins of a patient with lucio phenomenon contain phenolic glycolipid i antigen and a specific antibody.	1986	2429360
mycobacterium leprae-specific protein antigens defined by cloned human helper t cells.	leprosy displays a remarkable spectrum of symptoms correlating with the t-cell-mediated immune reactivity of the host against the causative organism, mycobacterium leprae. at one pole of this spectrum are lepromatous leprosy patients showing a m. leprae-specific t-cell unresponsiveness; at the other are tuberculoid leprosy patients displaying both acquired immunity and delayed-type hypersensitivity against m. leprae which are thought to be conferred by helper t (th) cells. because well-defined m ...	1986	2417123
staining of mycobacterium leprae in epoxy resin sections.		1986	2419364
molecular localization and polymorphism of hla class ii restriction determinants defined by mycobacterium leprae-reactive helper t cell clones from leprosy patients.	mhc class ii molecules carry the restriction determinants (rds) for antigen presentation to antigen-specific th lymphocytes. this restriction of t cell activation endows those molecules with a key role in the induction and regulation of antigen-specific immune responses. moreover, class ii molecules are the products of class ii immune response (ir) genes. the polymorphism of these ir genes leads to genetically controlled differences in immuneresponsiveness between different individuals. an impor ...	1986	2431092
use of synthetic glycoconjugates containing the mycobacterium leprae specific and immunodominant epitope of phenolic glycolipid i in the serology of leprosy.	the high specificity of phenolic glycolipid i (pg-i) in the identifying individuals with leprosy appears to be attributable to the species-specific trisaccharide region of the molecule. synthetic glycoconjugates were produced by coupling the corresponding terminal mono- or disaccharide to bovine serum albumin by reductive amination. conjugates which contained only the terminal sugar maintained in its pyranose form, the terminal disaccharide with only the terminal sugar in its pyranose form and t ...	1986	2431812
separate antigenic determinants on cell wall associated carbohydrate antigens of mycobacterium leprae defined with monoclonal antibodies.	monoclonal antibodies (mabs) raised against mycobacterium leprae sonicate defined two different determinants on related, cell-wall-associated, carbohydrate antigens common to m. leprae, m. bovis (bcg), and m. tuberculosis. antigen inhibition elisa and antigen capture assays demonstrated that the two antigens were present in a cell-wall fraction, m. leprae resonicate. there was species variation in the distribution of the antigens; the 4.5-6 kd antigen was more abundant in m. tuberculosis and m. ...	1986	2434585
a rapid silver staining method for identification of mycobacterium leprae in histologic sections.	a few methods have been reported for the purpose of staining mycobacterium leprae in paraffin sections, including fite oil fuchsin method, auramine-rhodamine method, and blanco-fite silver method. among these staining techniques, fite oil fuchsin method and auramine-rhodamine method are popular. however, the blanco-fite silver method takes approximately 20 days. therefore, we developed a new procedure for rapid identification of m. leprae in paraffin sections using another silver solution and fo ...	1986	2435021
in situ and in vitro characterization of the cellular immune response in erythema nodosum leprosum.	we sought to evaluate cell-mediated immune responses in erythema nodosum leprosum (enl), a reactional state occurring in lepromatous leprosy. skin biopsies from patients with leprosy were studied with monoclonal antibodies against t lymphocyte antigenic determinants, interleukin 2 (il 2), and il 2 receptors (tac) by using immunoperoxidase staining of frozen sections. peripheral blood lymphocytes from 18 enl patients were tested in vitro for lepromin-induced suppression of con a stimulation. seri ...	1986	2416837
hepatitis b virus (hbv) serum markers in greek leprosy patients.	the prevalence of hbsag, anti-hbs, and anti-hbc in the sera of 217 patients with the two polar types of leprosy and 382 hospital controls was studied in order to investigate the degree of exposure of greek leprosy patients to hbv and the ability of these patients to clear hbv from the blood. two distinct serological patterns were analyzed: effective exposure, characterized by the presence of one or more of the three serological markers, and active infection, characterized by the presence of hbsa ...	1986	3722963