| leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disorder, presumptively caused by mycobacterium leprae. this article reviews the epidemiology, etiopathogenesis, classification, clinical features, reactions, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. | 1994 | 7805293 |
| an id reaction to mycobacterium leprae: first documented case. | we present a case of generalized sarcoidal dermatitis in a patient with tuberculoid leprosy. after careful consideration of the reactional states in leprosy and recognizing that id reactions occur in other mycobacterial infections, we concluded that the patient's eruption was likely an id reaction to his mycobacterium leprae infection. it was most reminiscent of the tuberculids: lichenoid tuberculid and lichen scrofulosorum. however, its histomorphologic appearance was distinctive, showing elong ... | 1994 | 7805416 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7806388 |
| effect of xylol, urea and dpx on biological structures in leprosy cultures. | | 1994 | 7806907 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7813115 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7822004 |
| [molecular cloning of alpha antigen like protein gene of mycobacterium leprae and its over production in escherichia coli]. | i have constructed the genomic library of m. leprae thai 53 strain, and cloned the alpha antigen like protein gene by plaque hybridization method by using m. leprae alpha antigen dna fragment as probe which was characterized in the previous study, i have termed it as alpha 2 antigen gene. the alpha 2 antigen gene has been characterized by sequencing. by comparing the deduced amino acid sequence of alpha and alpha 2 antigen with 85 complex antigen of other mycobacteria. i have found the higher ho ... | 1994 | 7829901 |
| demonstration of mycobacterial antigens in skin biopsies fron suspected leprosy cases in the absence of bacilli. | skin-biopsies from fifty-six patients suspected of early leprosy from bahia state, brazil, were examined histopathologically. the fite-faraco staining failed to demonstrate acid-fast bacilli in this material. the prominent features of the lesions were inflammation of the neurovascular bundles and sometimes inflammation of the skin appendages. the non-specific infiltrate was predominantly composed of histiocytes and lymphocytes. in 41 cases (73.2%) epidermal atrophy was also present. the avidin-b ... | 1994 | 7831154 |
| protection against tuberculosis by passive transfer with t-cell clones recognizing mycobacterial heat-shock protein 65. | we have previously shown that mice vaccinated by injection with j774 macrophage-like tumour cells that expressed mycobacterium leprae heat-shock protein (hsp) 65 as a transgene had acquired a remarkably high degree of protection against subsequent challenge with virulent m. tuberculosis. we show here that antigen-specific t cells cloned from spleens of such vaccinated animals can transfer a high level of protection to non-vaccinated recipients. the most efficient cells were of t-cell receptor (t ... | 1994 | 7835957 |
| igg subclass antibody to mycobacterium leprae 18,000 mw antigen is restricted to igg1 and igg3 in leprosy. | igg subclass responses to mycobacterium leprae 18,000 mw recombinant antigen (18k) were determined in sera from untreated leprosy patients using an elisa-based assay with specific monoclonal antibodies. antibodies to m. leprae 18k were restricted to igg1 and igg3 antibodies with higher seropositivity in lepromatous patients (25.5% for igg1 and 12.8% for igg3) compared to patients with tuberculoid disease (11.5% for igg1 and 5% for igg3). no significant antibody response was detectable in igg2 an ... | 1994 | 7835976 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7836298 |
| immunohistological localization of mycobacterial antigens within the peripheral nerves of treated leprosy patients and their significance to nerve damage in leprosy. | the presence and distribution of mycobacterium leprae-specific and cross-reacting antigens within the peripheral nerves of multidrug-treated patients with leprosy was investigated to gain a better understanding of the mechanism of nerve damage and the effect of multidrug therapy (mdt) on it. there was no specific qualitative difference in the type of antigens in the leprosy spectrum. however, our results indicate that there may be differential handling of antigens by the macrophages as compared ... | 1994 | 7839822 |
| characterization of rifampin-resistance in pathogenic mycobacteria. | the emergence of rifampin-resistant strains of pathogenic mycobacteria has threatened the usefulness of this drug in treating mycobacterial diseases. critical to the treatment of individuals infected with resistant strains is the rapid identification of these strains directly from clinical specimens. it has been shown that resistance to rifampin in mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae apparently involves mutations in the rpob gene encoding the beta-subunit of the rna polymerases o ... | 1994 | 7840574 |
| [clinical aspects and therapy of early lepromatous leprosy with a case example]. | taking into account the increase in worldwide human migration, leprosy is of growing importance in the differential diagnosis of dermatological diseases encountered in central europe. we report on the case of a young man from ghana who developed hypopigmented maculae and plaques on his trunk and proximal limbs. the diagnosis of lepromatous leprosy could be made in consideration of the histological pattern of infiltrating leucocytes and detection of numerous acid-fast mycobacteria on skin biopsy. ... | 1994 | 7843963 |
| on the beta-glucuronidase binding protein (bgbp) of microorganisms. its purification, the antiserum preparation against that and its localization in leproma and the other infectious lesions shown by immunohistologic method. | our previous studies suggested that m. leprae (ml) grow in peripheral nerves and lepra cells because ml metabolize hyaluronic acid (ha), and use its component for their growth by the aid of host enzyme combined to the bacilli derived beta-glucuronidase binding protein (bgbp). in this study, therefore, we examined the method to purify bgbp from a mycobacterium hi-75 originally separated from a leproma and cultured by modified ogawa's medium containing split products of ha (glucuronic acid and n-a ... | 1994 | 7844061 |
| [elimination of contaminants in a homogenate of nude-mouse footpad experimentally infected with mycobacterium leprae]. | for elimination of contaminants in a homogenate of nude-mouse footpad infected with m.leprae, the pretreatment with trypsin was tested. the results obtained indicated that the final sterile product was satisfactorily obtained, if the pretreatment with trypsin 0.05%, 37 degrees c, 60min to the homogenate was carried out before the treatment with sodium hydroxide 1%, 37 degrees c, 15min. this procedure might contribute to make a suspension of partially purified m.leprae from the infected tissues, ... | 1994 | 7844062 |
| proteasome sequences in eubacteria. | | 1994 | 7846763 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7851011 |
| morphology of cystic structures seen in leprosy biopsy suspensions kept at cooler temperatures. | cystic structures were seen in good numbers in biopsy suspensions obtained from leprosy patients and kept at cooler temperature. the structures were found arranged in singles, clusters or straight lines. in clusters, small round structures were seen surrounding a large spherical body. the small cystic bodies appeared empty, the medium sized bodies showed fine particles while the large ones showed spherules in and around them. it appears that the seed structure of the cycle emerges from the large ... | 1994 | 7861043 |
| evaluation of modified lepro-agglutination as screening test for leprosy. | one hundred thirty-three leprosy sera (83 multibacillary (mb) and 50 paucibacillary (pb) cases) were screened by lepro-agglutination (la) and m.leprae particle agglutination (mlpa) tests. larger number of mb sera were positive by la (86.75%) than by mlpa (45.12%) test. thirty-seven of the 45 mb sera negative by mlpa test were positive by la test. the reverse was true in three out of 11 mb sera. pb sera showed positivity of 16% in la test and 24% in mlpa test. all the 55 sera from normal healthy ... | 1994 | 7861046 |
| the role of igm antiphenolic glycolipid-1 antibodies in assessing household contacts of leprosy patients in a low endemic area. | this study was carried out to assess the role pgl-1 antibodies may have to play in assisting with early diagnosis in close contacts of leprosy patients. blood samples were collected from patients and contacts. it was found that 6.9% of index cases and 1% of healthy contacts were positive for pgl-1 antibody. none of the healthy contacts developed clinical leprosy and all had become seronegative at follow-up. we conclude that screening for pgl-1 antibodies has a limited role in the screening of he ... | 1994 | 7861916 |
| inoculation of the mycobacterium leprae into the hamster cheek pouch. | | 1994 | 7861926 |
| immunoprecipitation of mycobacterial antigens with sera from patients with leprosy. | pooled sera from leprosy patients across the clinical spectrum, tuberculosis patients and healthy individuals were tested for their reactivity with antigens of mycobacterium leprae and a panel of cultivable mycobacteria by immunoprecipitation technique. sera from lepromatous leprosy patients demonstrated exclusive reactivity with the 26-kda protein of m. tuberculosis h37ra, 28-kda protein of m. kansasii, 45-kda protein of m. smegmatis, and 158, 40 and 14 kda proteins of m. phlei. sera from patie ... | 1994 | 7863757 |
| human immunodeficiency virus- 1 in leprosy patients attending kenyatta national hospital, nairobi. | the purpose of this study was to determine if mycobacterium leprae is an opportunistic pathogen in immunosuppressed subjects with hiv infection. ninety six leprosy patients at infectious diseases hospital (idh), nairobi were screened for, hiv-1 antibody between january 1991 and june 1992. the patients included 15 who were diagnosed during the study period and 81 who were previously diagnosed and were on anti-leprosy treatment. blood was screened for hiv antibody by first elisa and double positiv ... | 1994 | 7867537 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7868226 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7868268 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7868947 |
| 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. ... | 1994 | 7868950 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7868951 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7868953 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7868955 |
| the microbiology of mycobacterium leprae, part ii. reflections on major developments and those responsible for them. | | 1994 | 7868959 |
| experimental transmission of human leprosy bacilli in foot pads of severe combined immunodeficient mice. | | 1994 | 7868963 |
| relapse after long-term follow up of multibacillary patients treated by who multidrug regimen. | | 1994 | 7868967 |
| diagnostic value of gene probes and its correlation with clinical profile of leprosy in children. | clinico-bacteriological profile of 73 leprosy patients below 16 years of age was studied. majority of the patients were males and fell in 11-16 years age group (p < 0.05). skin lesions were present in all cases on both exposed as well as unexposed areas and their number increased with advancing age. cutaneous sensations were affected in most of the patients while nerve thickening was observed in 41. as age increased, the disease moved from the tuberculoid end of spectrum towards the lepromatous ... | 1994 | 7875812 |
| thalidomide does not perturb cd2, cd4, cd5, cd8, hla-dr, or hla-a, b, c molecules in vitro on the membranes of cells with immune potential. | thalidomide dramatically relieves the signs and symptoms of erythema nodosum leprosum (enl). enl is an acute inflammatory complication of lepromatous leprosy. the cause(s) of enl as well as the mechanism of action of thalidomide in arresting enl are unknowns. it has been suggested that enl is the consequence of a transient activation of a cell-mediated-immune (cmi) response to mycobacterium leprae. to initiate a cmi response, an interaction between adhesion and/or signal transducing molecules on ... | 1994 | 7876469 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7876548 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7877174 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7879421 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7887018 |
| 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 ... | 1995 | 7891231 |
| leprosy-specific neoglycoconjugates: synthesis and application to serodiagnosis of leprosy. | | 1994 | 7891583 |
| [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 ... | 1994 | 7892750 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7906291 |
| leprosy vaccine. | | 1994 | 7908414 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7909542 |
| an rflp map for 2q33-q37 from multicase mycobacterial and leishmanial disease families: no evidence for an lsh/ity/bcg gene homologue influencing susceptibility to leprosy. | the mycobacterial diseases leprosy and tuberculosis (tb) and the leishmaniases are characterized by a wide spectrum of disease phenotypes, and by the fact that the majority of individuals exposed to the causative organisms mycobacterium leprae, m. tuberculosis and leishmania sp. become infected but do not present with clinical disease. in order to determine whether a human homologue to the murine macrophage resistance gene lsh/ity/bcg influences susceptibility to human disease, multicase familie ... | 1993 | 7910002 |
| 14th international leprosy congress pre-congress workshops, august 1993, orlando (usa). | | 1993 | 7910189 |
| mycobacterium leprae dna from ancient bone detected by pcr. | | 1994 | 7910345 |
| chemical definition, cloning, and expression of the major protein of the leprosy bacillus. | the decline in prevalence of leprosy is not necessarily matched by a fall in incidence, emphasizing the need for new antigens to measure disease transmission and reservoirs of infection. mycobacterium leprae obtained from armadillo tissues was disrupted and subjected to differential centrifugation to arrive at preparations of cell wall, cytoplasmic membrane, and cytosol. by committing 0.3 g of m. leprae to the task, it was possible to isolate from the cytosol and fully define the major cytosolic ... | 1994 | 7910593 |
| isolation and characterization of the aspartokinase and aspartate semialdehyde dehydrogenase operon from mycobacteria. | diaminopimelic acid (dap) is a major component of the peptidoglycan layer of the mycobacterial cell wall. the mycobacterial cell wall has been implicated as a potential virulence factor and is highly immunogenic. the pathway for biosynthesis of dap may serve as a target in the design of antimycobacterial agents and construction of in vivo selection systems. despite its significance, this biosynthetic pathway is poorly understood in mycobacteria. in order to develop a better understanding of myco ... | 1994 | 7910936 |
| leprosy vaccine. | | 1994 | 7911225 |
| [proceedings of the workshops of the 14th international leprology congress. orland (usa). 29 august-4 september 1993]. | | 1994 | 7911638 |
| heat shock protein 60 (groel) from porphyromonas gingivalis: molecular cloning and sequence analysis of its gene and purification of the recombinant protein. | porphyromonas gingivalis is associated with human periodontal disease. we cloned and sequenced the gene for heat shock protein 60 (groel, hsp60) from p. gingivalis fdc381. the identified clone carried a 2.6 kb dna fragment which contained two open reading frames (orfs) encoding a 9.6- and a 58.4-kda protein. the translated amino acid sequence of these orfs showed a high degree of homology with known sequences for groes and groel from several bacterial species and humans. escherichia coli carryin ... | 1994 | 7913687 |
| arthritis of leprosy. | an inflammatory polyarthritis has been previously described in leprosy but accounts of the clinical characteristics have varied. all patients with joint symptoms admitted to a leprosy centre over 5 months were examined by a rheumatologist. of 48 acute admissions, 20 (42%) had a symmetrical polyarthritis affecting the wrists and fingers. this was strikingly similar to ra in appearance. the arthritis occurred exclusively in patients with reactions mainly during anti-mycobacterial treatment. the cl ... | 1994 | 7921759 |
| autoantibodies to cerebroside sulphate (sulphatide) in leprosy. | sera from 40 leprosy patients were screened for autoantibodies to cerebroside sulphate (sulphatide). anti-sulphatide igm in groups of patients with lepromatous (ll) and borderline (bl + bb + bt), but not with tuberculoid (tt) disease, were significantly elevated above the levels found in endemic control subjects. eight-six percent (18 out of 21; mean 1.59 od units) of ll, 33% (four out of 12; mean 1.08 od units) of borderline and 13% (one out of eight; mean 0.69 od units) of tuberculoid patients ... | 1994 | 7923874 |
| a single mycobacterial protein (hsp 65) expressed by a transgenic antigen-presenting cell vaccinates mice against tuberculosis. | we used a retroviral shuttle vector [pzipneosv(x)] to transfect a monocyte-like murine tumour cell line (j774.g8) with the mycobacterium leprae gene encoding heat-shock protein (hsp) 65. the antigen was expressed and presented on the surface of the transfected cell in association with major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i and class ii for recognition by t cells from specifically sensitized mice. we show here that when these transfected cells were used as a vaccine and introduced parenta ... | 1994 | 7927495 |
| vaccination with pure mycobacterium leprae proteins inhibits m. leprae multiplication in mouse footpads. | in this study, we evaluated vaccination with a number of purified, as well as recombinant, mycobacterium leprae proteins for protective efficacy in mice. balb/c mice were immunized intradermally with various native somatic (purified) or recombinant m. leprae proteins and their synthetic polypeptides emulsified in freund's incomplete adjuvant. the protective efficacy of these preparations was assessed by enumeration of bacilli in the footpads of mice challenged with viable m. leprae 1 to 2 months ... | 1994 | 7927681 |
| cloning and sequencing of a bordetella pertussis serum resistance locus. | we have characterized a new virulence factor in bordetella pertussis: serum resistance. compared with escherichia coli hb101, wild-type b. pertussis was relatively resistant to classical-pathway, complement-dependent killing by normal human serum. however, a mutant of b. pertussis (bpm2041) which is less virulent in mice and which has tn5 lac inserted in a previously uncharacterized bvg-regulated gene was found to be at least 10-fold more susceptible to serum killing than the wild type. we have ... | 1994 | 7927748 |
| lepromatous leprosy with extensive truncal seborrheic keratoses and acral verruca vulgaris. | | 1994 | 7928035 |
| [anti-leprosy vaccines and drugs]. | | 1994 | 7928797 |
| [gerhard henrik armauer hansen and his discovery of mycobacterium leprae]. | | 1994 | 7928799 |
| antibody to 65-kd stress protein (hsp65) of mycobacterium leprae in various inflammatory skin diseases. a preliminary report. | cells from prokaryotes and eukaryotes exposed to environmental changes produce a series of highly homologous proteins called stress proteins, or heat shock proteins (hsps). recent investigators suggested that the reaction to the shared antigenic epitope between hsps may link infections with induction of autoimmune processes. in the present study, antibody level to hsp with 65 kda (hsp65) of mycobacterium leprae was investigated with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) in various skin disea ... | 1994 | 7928800 |
| il-12 regulates t helper type 1 cytokine responses in human infectious disease. | we investigated the role of il-12 in regulating t cell and cytokine responses in human infectious disease by using the spectrum of leprosy as a model. tuberculoid patients mount strong t cell responses to mycobacterium leprae, with production of the type 1 cytokines il-2 and ifn-gamma in lesions; whereas lepromatous patients manifest weak t cell responses to m. leprae, with production of the type 2 cytokines il-4 and il-10 in lesions. we found expression of il-12 p40 mrna, as measured by pcr amp ... | 1994 | 7930584 |
| prevalence of human t cell lymphotropic virus (htlv) types i and ii and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infections among persons with hansen's disease in new york city. | one-hundred seven consecutive patients attending a new york hansen's disease clinic from november 1990 through june 1991 were tested for retroviruses. this cohort included 58 patients diagnosed with hansen's disease after the onset of the aids epidemic, 54 of whom immigrated to the united states before diagnosis of hansen's disease (median, 7 years). the overall rate (1.9%) of human t cell lymphotropic virus (htlv) type i infection was low. two (3.6%) of 55 caribbean-born patients had polymerase ... | 1994 | 7930695 |
| a mycobacterium leprae-specific gene encoding an immunologically recognized 45 kda protein. | by screening a mycobacterium leprae lambda gt11 expression library with a serum from an ethiopian lepromatous leprosy (ll) patient a clone was isolated (ll4) belonging to hybridization group iii of a panel of previously isolated m. leprae clones. members of this hybridization group encode a serologically recognized 45 kda protein. the complete dna sequences of the partially overlapping clones ll4 and l1 (hybridization group iii) are presented and these revealed the presence of an open reading fr ... | 1993 | 7934845 |
| construction and use of integrative vectors to express foreign genes in mycobacteria. | we have constructed a mycobacterial integrative vector by placing two copies of the insertion sequence is900 flanking a kanamycin-resistance gene into a 'suicide' vector unable to replicate in mycobacteria. the mycobacterium leprae gene encoding the m. leprae 18 kda protein was cloned between the two copies of is900 to provide expression signals. constructs were introduced into mycobacterium species smegmatis, vaccae and bovis bcg by electroporation and selection for kanamycin resistance. the ex ... | 1993 | 7934874 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7934876 |
| 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. ... | 1994 | 7936076 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7946393 |
| vaccines against leprosy. | | 1994 | 7950943 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7959924 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7960155 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7963598 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7963906 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7963907 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7963908 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7963911 |
| 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. | 1994 | 7963912 |
| oxidation of sphingolipids by mycobacterium leprae. | | 1994 | 7963924 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7967984 |
| 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. | 1994 | 7968182 |
| comment: the serodiagnosis of leprosy. | | 1994 | 7968190 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7968194 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7976857 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 7979302 |
| cotrifazide. | | 1994 | 7983395 |
| simpler procedures solve difficult problems. | | 1994 | 7983396 |
| 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. | 1994 | 7987013 |
| [gerhard armauer hansen. the discoverer of mycobacterium leprae]. | | 1994 | 7990545 |
| [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 ... | 1994 | 7997788 |
| 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. ... | 1994 | 7997854 |
| [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 ... | 1994 | 8003901 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 8006444 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 8006590 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 8008750 |
| scale-up production of a recombinant mycobacterium leprae antigen. | | 1994 | 8010659 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 8011013 |
| 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 ... | 1994 | 8013883 |
| class-specific immunoglobulins and antibodies to mycobacterial sonicates and autoantigens in leprosy patients and contacts. | a comprehensive analysis of the humoral immune response in leprosy patients and contacts was undertaken. class-specific antibodies to four mycobacterial sonicates, three autoantigens and three haptens were estimated by elisa. it was found that igg levels varied more extensively than igm or iga and that total serum igg was significantly higher in lepromatous bacterial index positive (ll+ve) and negative ll-ve) leprosy patients than in tuberculoid (tt/bt) patients and controls. the high levels of ... | 1993 | 8015417 |