@article{18566,
  keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, Antigens, Bacterial, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Female, Humans, Immunoglobulin A, Immunoglobulin A, Secretory, leprosy, Male, Middle Aged, Mycobacterium leprae, Nasal Mucosa, Nasal Provocation Tests, Saliva, Tuberculin},
  author = {Ramaprasad P and Cree I A and Oluwole M and Samson P D},
  title = {Development of a mucosal challenge test for leprosy using leprosin A.},
  abstract = {<p>There is little information about the mucosal immune response in leprosy. We have developed a nasal provocation test with leprosin A which will be used to investigate mucosal immunity to Mycobacterium leprae. Initial studies were performed with increasing doses of leprosin A (1.0 pg/ml-10 micrograms/ml) to determine the optimal safe dose of leprosin A. Anti-M. leprae IgA antibody and normal IgA concentrations were measured in the saliva of leprosy contacts and controls before and after instillation of leprosin A. Nasal leprosin A was well tolerated up to a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml without side effects. None of the six subjects who had not been exposed to leprosy had salivary IgA against whole M. leprae, whereas IgA was detected from 64 h to 140 h following instillation of leprosin A in all of the leprosy hospital workers and in 15 out of 18 healthy household contacts tested. There was no correlation between serum and salivary anti-M. leprae IgA levels before and after testing. Salivary IgA anti-lipoarabinomannan responses were seen in 12 out of 20 household contacts. Normal salivary IgA concentrations varied from 8 to 240 mg/l. The leprosin A nasal provocation test appears to be a safe method for the investigation of the role of mucosal immunity in the pathogenesis of leprosy.</p>},
  year = {1995},
  journal = {Journal of immunological methods},
  volume = {188},
  pages = {239-46},
  month = {1995 Dec 27},
  issn = {0022-1759},
  doi = {10.1016/0022-1759(95)00219-7},
  language = {eng},
}