01784nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002400055653001100079653003000090653002100120653001200141653002600153653002500179653001700204653002000221100001500241700001200256700001100268700001100279700001300290245014900303300001000452490000700462520101100469022001401480       1987                            d  c1987 Apr10aAntigens, Bacterial10aHumans10aHypersensitivity, Delayed10aImmune Tolerance10aleprosy10aLymphocyte Activation10aMycobacterium leprae10aTime Factors10aTuberculin Test1 aSengupta U1 aSinha S1 aRamu G1 aLamb J1 aIvanyi J00aSuppression of delayed hypersensitivity skin reactions to tuberculin by M. leprae antigens in patients with lepromatous and tuberculoid leprosy.  a58-640 v683 a<p>Delayed hypersensitivity skin reactions to tuberculin when injected alone or in mixture with antigens of M. leprae were examined in leprosy patients and in healthy controls. The tuberculin reaction was significantly inhibited in more than one half of both LL and BT patients by the soluble extract of M. leprae (leprosin), the leprosin derived 12 kD protein or leprosin depleted of the 12 kD antigen. However, suppression was not found in healthy controls from a leprosy endemic region. These results suggest that multiple M. leprae-specific antigens have an immunoregulatory function. Since suppression was demonstrable not only in LL (leprosin-anergic), but also in BT (leprosin-responder) patients it is of interest that the 'mixed' skin test can discriminate the immune status of at least certain BT patients from that of the infected but self-healing healthy controls. Corollary lymphocyte cultures failed to show any suppression by leprosing of the lymphoproliferative responses to tuberculin.</p>  a0009-9104