02637nas a2200433   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002400055653001800079653001400097653001600111653003800127653005300165653001100218653002100229653001800250653001800268653001200286653002800298653002500326653003000351653001900381653002500400653003400425100001200459700001400471700001300485700001600498700001400514700001300528700001200541700001600553700001100569245021600580300001100796490000700807520137500814022001402189       1995                            d  c1995 Sep10aAntigens, Bacterial10aBase Sequence10aCytokines10aDNA Primers10aEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay10aGranulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor10aHumans10aInterferon-gamma10aInterleukin-410aInterleukin-610aleprosy10aMolecular Sequence Data10aMycobacterium leprae10apolymerase chain reaction10aRNA, Messenger10aT-Lymphocyte Subsets10aT-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer1 aMisra N1 aMurtaza A1 aWalker B1 aNarayan N P1 aMisra R S1 aRamesh V1 aSingh S1 aColston M J1 aNath I00aCytokine profile of circulating T cells of leprosy patients reflects both indiscriminate and polarized T-helper subsets: T-helper phenotype is stable and uninfluenced by related antigens of Mycobacterium leprae.  a97-1030 v863 a<p>Cytokine profiles of circulating mononuclear cells were studied with the aim of delineating T-cell subsets in leprosy patients with active disease. Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for cytokine mRNA and enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) for the secreted products, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-6 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were studied. Three antigens, native Mycobacterium leprae, a recombinant antigen LSR/A15 of M. leprae and peptide 624 spanning 58-77 amino acids of the latter, were used to induce cytokine expression and release. Half of the subjects, irrespective of the clinical type or antigen used, showed a mixed T-helper type 0 (Th0)-like cytokine pattern, with evidence of the concomitant presence of IFN-gamma and IL-4. The remainder showed a polarized pattern based on the type of leprosy. Lepromatous patients with disseminated disease had Th2-type cytokines, with IL-4 but not IFN-gamma. In contrast, tuberculoid leprosy patients with localized disease showed a Th1-like profile, with the presence of IFN-gamma but not IL-4. Of interest was the stability of the Th phenotype for M. leprae-related antigens. Both the recombinant and the peptide antigens induced the same phenotype as the natural M. leprae bacillus in all except four of 45 leprosy patients.</p>  a0019-2805