Skip to main content
PMC home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1984 Aug;57(2):315–323.

In vitro stimulation of lymphocytes with an antigen fraction prepared from Mycobacterium leprae and tuberculin PPD in contacts and non-contacts of leprosy patients.

L J Reitan, O Closs
PMCID: PMC1536103  PMID: 6380833

Abstract

An antigen fraction from Mycobacterium leprae, called MLW1, was used as stimulator in the lymphocyte stimulation test, for comparison with tuberculin PPD. The test was performed in three groups of contacts of leprosy patients with various degree of exposure: (1) close contacts, (2) healthy occupational contacts and (3) non-close contacts and, in addition, in a group of BCG vaccinated and non-exposed controls. The MLW1 preparation induced moderate to strong responses in all three groups of contacts. Although the close contact group showed the highest median responses to all three doses tested, there were no significant differences between the contact groups. At all three doses levels the non-exposed group showed markedly and significantly lower median responses than the contact groups. The responses to tuberculin PPD was markedly and significantly lower in the close contact group than in the other groups. Both when individual responses to the two antigens MLW1 and PPD are compared and when the delta ct/min' estimator is used, the results indicate that the intensity of the specific response increases with the closeness of contact with leprosy patients.

Full text

PDF
319

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Burford-Mason A. P., Gyte G. M. An alternative method of expressing results of lymphocyte transformation experiments. J Immunol Methods. 1979;28(3-4):391–394. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(79)90204-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Closs O. In vitro lymphocyte response to purified protein derivative, BCG and Mycobacterium leprae in a population not exposed to leprosy. Infect Immun. 1975 Jun;11(6):1163–1169. doi: 10.1128/iai.11.6.1163-1169.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Closs O., Reitan L. J., Negassi K., Harboe M., Belehu A. In vitro stimulation of lymphocytes in leprosy patients, healthy contacts of leprosy patients, and subjects not exposed to leprosy. Comparison of an antigen fraction prepared from Mycobacterium leprae and tuberculin-purified protein derivative. Scand J Immunol. 1982 Aug;16(2):103–115. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1982.tb00704.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dean J. H., Connor R., Herberman R. B., Silva J., McCoy J. L., Oldham R. K. The relative proliferation index as a more sensitive parameter for evaluating lymphoproliferative responses of cancer patients to mitogens and alloantigens. Int J Cancer. 1977 Sep 15;20(3):359–370. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910200307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Godal T. Immunological aspects of leprosy--present status. Prog Allergy. 1978;25:211–242. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Godal T., Lofgren M., Negassi K. Immune response to M. leprae of healthy leprosy contacts. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1972 Jul-Sep;40(3):243–250. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Godal T., Negassi K. Subclinical infection in leprosy. Br Med J. 1973 Sep 15;3(5880):557–559. doi: 10.1136/bmj.3.5880.557. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Harboe M., Closs O., Bjorvatn B., Kronvall G., Axelsen N. H. Antibody response in rabbits to immunization with Mycobacterium leprae. Infect Immun. 1977 Dec;18(3):792–805. doi: 10.1128/iai.18.3.792-805.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Jamison D. G., Vollum R. L. Tuberculin conversion in leprous families in Northern Nigeria. Lancet. 1968 Dec 14;2(7581):1271–1272. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(68)91763-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Menzel S., Bjune G., Kronvall G. Lymphocyte transformation test in healthy contacts of patients with leprosy. I. Influence of exposure to leprosy within a household. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1979 Jun;47(2):138–152. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Menzel S., Bjune G., Kronvall G. Lymphocyte transformation test in healthy contacts of patients with leprosy. II. Influence of consanguinity with the patient, sex, and age. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1979 Jun;47(2):153–159. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Reitan L. J., Closs O., Belehu A. In vitro lymphocyte stimulation in patients with lepromatous and borderline tuberculoid leprosy. The effect of dapsone treatment on the response to Mycobacterium leprae antigens, tuberculin purified protein derivative and non-mycobacterial stimulants. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1982 Dec;50(4):455–467. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Experimental Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES