@article{7330,
  keywords = {Antibodies, Antibodies, Antinuclear, Antigens, Viral, Autoantibodies, Binding, Competitive, Blotting, Western, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Epitopes, Humans, Leprosy, Borderline, Leprosy, lepromatous, Leprosy, Tuberculoid, Mitochondria, Muscle, Smooth, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Parietal Cells, Gastric, Rheumatoid Factor},
  author = {Bothamley G and Beck J S and Britton W and Elsaghier A and Ivanyi J},
  title = {Antibodies to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific epitopes in lepromatous leprosy.},
  abstract = {<p>Sera from patients with leprosy or tuberculosis and healthy subjects have been analysed for the presence of antibodies to four species-specific mycobacterial epitopes, four different viruses and five autoantigens. Antibodies to the Mycobacterium leprae-specific 35-kD protein and phenolic glycolipid I epitopes were not present in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. In contrast, antibody levels to species-specific epitopes of the 38-kD and 14-kD antigens M. tuberculosis were significantly elevated in patients with lepromatous leprosy. Neither of the two antigens is cross-reactive with M. leprae at the B cell level. However, it was considered that cross-reactive helper T cells could recall the response of M. tuberculosis-specific memory B cells, which had been primed through prior self-healing tuberculous infection. As an alternative explanation, the possible role of polyclonal B cell stimulation was considered. This seemed unlikely, however, since: (i) antibody levels to autoantigens, except anti-smooth muscle, were not elevated, and (ii) antibody levels to four distinct viruses, unlike those to all mycobacterial epitopes, showed no correlation with titres, to M. tuberculosis-specific epitopes.</p>},
  year = {1991},
  journal = {Clinical and experimental immunology},
  volume = {86},
  pages = {426-32},
  month = {1991 Dec},
  issn = {0009-9104},
  url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1554197/pdf/clinexpimmunol00056-0074.pdf},
  doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2249.1991.tb02948.x},
  language = {eng},
}