01711nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001900055653001100074653001300085653001200098653003000110100001500140700001100155700001400166700001200180700001500192245006200207300001100269490000800280520116700288022001401455       1987                            d  c1987 Jan10aConcanavalin A10aHumans10aLepromin10aleprosy10aT-Lymphocytes, Regulatory1 aNelson E E1 aWong L1 aUyemura K1 aRea T H1 aModlin R L00aLepromin-induced suppressor cells in lepromatous leprosy.  a99-1040 v1043 a<p>The presence or absence of suppressor cells in leprosy patients was investigated by measuring peripheral blood lepromin-induced suppression of the Con A response. Significant suppressor activity was measured in 15 of 15 untreated or recently treated patients with lepromatous leprosy and 3 of 5 patients with borderline lepromatous leprosy. In addition, in patients with lepromatous leprosy, suppressor cell activity was found in 10 of 14 patients that had been under treatment for more than 1 year but in only 2 of 27 patients who had active or thalidomide controlled erythema nodosum leprosum. Suppression was observed in only 5 of 29 tuberculoid leprosy patients, 1 of 6 patient contacts, and 0 of 11 normal controls. The differences between the lepromatous or borderline lepromatous group as compared with the tuberculoid group were statistically significant (P less than 0.001). Our findings confirm the presence of lepromin-triggered suppressor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with lepromatous leprosy. These suppressor cells may contribute to the selective unresponsiveness of lepromatous patients to the antigens of Mycobacterium leprae.</p>  a0008-8749