02279nas a2200373   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001200055653002600067653002400093653001600117653002000133653001100153653001700164653001200181653001800193653002400211653002500235653002400260653002400284653002100308653001200329100001300341700001200354700001500366700001500381700001600396245007600412856007800488300001200566490000700578520130600585022001401891       1977                            d  c1977 Dec10aAnimals10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aBCG Vaccine10aCross Reactions10aHumans10aImmunization10aleprosy10aMycobacterium10aMycobacterium bovis10aMycobacterium leprae10aMycobacterium phlei10aNocardia asteroides10aPrecipitin Tests10aRabbits1 aHarboe M1 aCloss O1 aBjorvatn B1 aKronvall G1 aAxelsen N H00aAntibody response in rabbits to immunization with Mycobacterium leprae.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC421304/pdf/iai00216-0230.pdf  a792-8050 v183 a<p>Mycobacterium leprae purified from liver tissue of an infected armadillo (the A/10 preparation) was tested for antigenic composition by immunization of rabbits and characterization of the antibody response by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. The rabbit antisera detected seven distinct components in the M. leprae preparation. This number is far lower than in similar experiments with other mycobacteria. The M. leprae sonic extract gave far fewer lines after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and staining with Coomassie brillant blue than sonic extracts prepared from BCG, M. smegmatis, and M. phlei adjusted to the same protein concentration based on the Folin assay. The seven components detected in M. leprae cross-reacted extensively with M. avium, BCG, M. lepraemurium, M. smegmatis, and Nocardia asteroides. The seven components are involved in immune reactions in leprosy; antibodies against all of them were demonstrated in sera from patients with lepromatous leprosy, but the specificity of the antibodies varied from patient to patient. The reason for the demonstration of so few antigenic components and some of the implications of these findings for the use of armadillo-grown M. leprae to develop specific skin test reagents and in other aspects of leprosy research are discussed.</p>  a0019-9567