Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1980 Sep;41(3):397–405.

Effect of Mycobacterium leprae on lymphocyte proliferation: suppression of mitogen and antigen responses of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

J Touw, G L Stoner, A Belehu
PMCID: PMC1537042  PMID: 6449337

Abstract

Evidence is presented that Mycobacterium leprae suppresses the in vitro proliferative response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) to antigen and mitogen. Lymphoproliferation induced by PPD or alloantigen stimulation was inhibited by concentrations of M. leprae which were not cytotoxic for lymphoblasts. In contrast, the inhibition of mitogen-stimulated PBM was seen only at higher concentrations of M. leprae which proved to be cytotoxic for lymphoblasts. The inhibitory effect was found not to be dependent on a particular cell population present in leprosy patients, as PBM from normal were inhibited similarly. These findings may explain some of the immunological aberrations observed in lepromatous leprosy patients who harbour large numbers of M. leprae bacilli in their tissues.

Full text

PDF
397

Selected References

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

  1. Bjune G., Barnetson R. S., Ridley D. S., Kronvall G. Lymphocyte transformation test in leprosy; correlation of the response with inflammation of lesions. Clin Exp Immunol. 1976 Jul;25(1):85–94. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bjune G. In vitro lymphocyte stimulation in leprosy; simultaneous stimulation with Mycobacterium leprae antigens and phytohaemagglutinin. Clin Exp Immunol. 1979 Jun;36(3):479–487. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Böyum A. Isolation of mononuclear cells and granulocytes from human blood. Isolation of monuclear cells by one centrifugation, and of granulocytes by combining centrifugation and sedimentation at 1 g. Scand J Clin Lab Invest Suppl. 1968;97:77–89. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dwyer J. M., Bullock W. E., Fields J. P. Disturbance of the blood T:B lymphocyte ratio in lepromatous leprosy. Clinical and immunologic correlations. N Engl J Med. 1973 May 17;288(20):1036–1039. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197305172882002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Godal T., Myklestad B., Samuel D. R., Myrvang B. Characterization of the cellular immune defect in lepromatous leprosy: a specific lack of circulating Mycobacterium leprae-reactive lymphocytes. Clin Exp Immunol. 1971 Dec;9(6):821–831. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Han S. H., Weiser R. S., Kau S. T. Prolonged survival of skin allografts in leprosy patients. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1971 Jan-Mar;39(1):1–6. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Han S. H., Weiser R. S., Lin Y. C. Transformation of leprous lymphocytes by leprolin, tuberculin and phytohemagglutinin. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1971 Oct-Dec;39(4):789–795. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hirschberg H., Skare H., Thorsby E. Cell mediated lympholysis: CML. a microplate technique requiring few target cells and employing a new method of supernatant collection. J Immunol Methods. 1977;16(2):131–141. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(77)90048-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lim S. D., Jacobson R. R., Park B. H., Good R. A. Leprosy XII. Quantitative analysis of thymus-derived lymphocyte response to phytohemagglutinin in leprosy. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1975 Apr-Jun;43(2):95–100. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lim S. D., Kiszkiss D. F., Jacobson R. R., Choi Y. S., Good R. A. Thymus-dependent lymphocytes of peripheral blood in leprosy patients. Infect Immun. 1974 Feb;9(2):394–399. doi: 10.1128/iai.9.2.394-399.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mehra V. L., Talwar G. P., Balakrishnan K., Bhutani L. K. Influence of chemotherapy and serum factors on the mitogenic response of peripheral leucocytes of leprosy patients to phytohaemagglutinin. Clin Exp Immunol. 1972 Oct;12(2):205–213. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Mehra V., Mason L. H., Fields J. P., Bloom B. R. Lepromin-induced suppressor cells in patients with leprosy. J Immunol. 1979 Oct;123(4):1813–1817. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mendes N. F., Kopersztych S., Mota N. G. T and B lymphocytes in patients with lepromatous leprosy. Clin Exp Immunol. 1974 Jan;16(1):23–29. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Naafs B., Wheate H. W. The time interval between the start of anti-leprosy treatment and the development of reactions in borderline patients. Lepr Rev. 1978 Jun;49(2):153–157. doi: 10.5935/0305-7518.19780019. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Nelson D. S., Nelson M., Thurston J. M., Waters M. F., Pearson J. M. Phytohaemagglutinin-induced lymphocyte transformation in leprosy. Clin Exp Immunol. 1971 Jul;9(1):33–43. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ridley D. S., Jopling W. H. Classification of leprosy according to immunity. A five-group system. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1966 Jul-Sep;34(3):255–273. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ridley D. S., Waters M. F. Significance of variations within the lepromatous group. Lepr Rev. 1969 Jul;40(3):143–152. doi: 10.5935/0305-7518.19690026. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Schellekens P. T., Eijsvoogel V. P. Lymphocyte transformation in vitro. IV. Recruitment in antigen-stimulated cultures. Clin Exp Immunol. 1971 Feb;8(2):187–194. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sher R., Holm G., Kok S. H., Koornhof H. J., Glover A. T and CR+ lymphocyte profile in leprosy and the effect of treatment. Infect Immun. 1976 Jan;13(1):31–35. doi: 10.1128/iai.13.1.31-35.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Stoner G. L., Touw J., Belehu A., Naafs B. In-vitro lymphoproliferative response to Mycobacterium leprae of HLA-D-identical siblings of lepromatous leprosy patients. Lancet. 1978 Sep 9;2(8089):543–547. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(78)92881-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Talwar G. P., Krishnan A. D., Mehra V. L., Blum E. A., Pearson J. M. Evaluation of cell mediated immune responses in untreated cases of leprosy. Clin Exp Immunol. 1972 Oct;12(2):195–203. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Turk J. L., Bryceson A. D. Immunological phenomena in leprosy and related diseases. Adv Immunol. 1971;13:209–266. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2776(08)60185-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Turk J. L., Waters M. F. Immunological significance of changes in lymph nodes across the leprosy spectrum. Clin Exp Immunol. 1971 Mar;8(3):363–376. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Ulrich M., de Salas B., Convit J. Lymphocyte transformation with phytomitogens in leprosy. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1972 Jan-Mar;40(1):4–9. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Ward P. A., Goralnick S., Bullock W. E. Defective leukotaxis in patients with lepromatous leprosy. J Lab Clin Med. 1976 Jun;87(6):1025–1032. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES