02076nas a2200253   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653003100055653002700086653001900113653001700132653002100149653001100170653002100181653001200202100001600214700001500230700001500245245006800260300001100328490000700339520146200346022001401808       1994                            d  c1994 Oct10aAntibodies, Anti-Idiotypic10aAntibodies, Monoclonal10aAutoantibodies10aCerebrosides10aErythema Nodosum10aHumans10aImmunoglobulin M10aleprosy1 aWheeler P R1 aRaynes J G1 aMcAdam K P00aAutoantibodies to cerebroside sulphate (sulphatide) in leprosy.  a145-500 v983 a<p>Sera from 40 leprosy patients were screened for autoantibodies to cerebroside sulphate (sulphatide). Anti-sulphatide IgM in groups of patients with lepromatous (LL) and borderline (BL + BB + BT), but not with tuberculoid (TT) disease, were significantly elevated above the levels found in endemic control subjects. Eight-six percent (18 out of 21; mean 1.59 OD units) of LL, 33% (four out of 12; mean 1.08 OD units) of borderline and 13% (one out of eight; mean 0.69 OD units) of tuberculoid patients had anti-sulphatide IgM in their sera above a cut-off value of 2 s.d. above the mean value (0.66 OD units) for control sera. Elevated anti-sulphatide IgG was detected in only one patient's serum, an individual with LL disease. The level of anti-sulphatide IgM was strongly correlated to expression of the TH3 idiotype, an idiotype previously defined by a human MoAb that bound Mycobacterium leprae phenolic glycolipid, Klebsiella capsular polysaccharide, polynucleotides and human tissues. The purified, TH3 MoAb was found in this study to bind sulphatide, but not cholesterol-3-sulphate or cerebroside. It is suggested that anti-sulphatide IgM is elevated in leprosy, in relation to the bacterial load. Anti-sulphatide IgM fell at the onset of erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) reaction, consistent with the deposition of serum antibodies, and thus may play a part in pathology during periods of inflammation, particularly in multibacillary patients.</p>  a0009-9104