01305nas a2200217   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001100055653001100066653002400077653001200101653001600113653000900129653002500138100002000163245010900183300001000292490000600302520076500308022001401073       1983                            d  c1983 Dec10aFemale10aHumans10aIn Vitro Techniques10aleprosy10aMacrophages10aMale10aMycobacterium leprae1 aFreire-Maia D V00a[In vitro behavior of macrophages of healthy subjects and Hansen patients against Mycobacterium leprae].  a81-900 v83 a<p>The in vitro phagocytic capacity of human macrophages facing M. leprae was analysed in a selected sample of healthy and hanseniasis patients (Virchowian and tuberculoid) individuals. Families where at least one of the spouses presented Hansen's disease were selected and 176 white people were studied. The analysis of the macrophages' behavior was performed by reading the slides in the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 30th days after inoculation of M. leprae. The classification is discussed. The results showed a high variability. The main conclusions reached are: (a) people differ in their capacity to lyse M. leprae, as measured by their macrophages' behavior in vitro; (b) the results obtained give support to Beiguelman's theory of the lysis threshold.</p>  a0100-3283