01668nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002600055653002400081653003800105653001600143653001100159653002100170653002100191653002100212653001200233653002500245653002400270100001400294700001800308700001500326700001800341700001700359245011700376300001000493490000800503520082900511022001401340       1984                            d  c1984 Jun10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aImmunoglobulin A10aImmunoglobulin G10aImmunoglobulin M10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aSpecies Specificity1 aYoung D B1 aDissanayake S1 aMiller R A1 aKhanolkar S R1 aBuchanan T M00aHumans respond predominantly with IgM immunoglobulin to the species-specific glycolipid of Mycobacterium leprae.  a870-30 v1493 a<p>The immunoglobulin classes of the antibody response to the species-specific phenolic glycolipid antigen of Mycobacterium leprae have been characterized for serum specimens from 78 patients with leprosy. These patients included the entire clinical spectrum from paucibacillary to multibacillary disease, including polar tuberculoid (TT; 11 patients), borderline tuberculoid (BT; 15), borderline (BB; 17), borderline lepromatous (BL; 13), and lepromatous (LL; 22)--clinical classifications according to Ridley-Jopling criteria. In each patient group, the levels of IgM antibody to phenolic glycolipid were significantly higher than levels of IgG or IgA. Inhibition experiments with purified antigen showed that antibodies to the phenolic glycolipid dominated the human IgM antibody response to the surface of M. leprae.</p>  a0022-1899