01545nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001260001700042653003000059653001800089653003100107653001100138653002300149653001200172653002500184653002500209653001700234100001100251700001200262245005300274300001000327520095200337022001401289       1979                            d  c1979 Apr-Jun10aAdaptation, Physiological10aCulture Media10aDrug Resistance, Microbial10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aPigments, Biological10aStreptomycin1 aKato L1 aKim C H00aMycobacterium leprae: atypical and unclassified.  a49-543 a<p>Once M. leprae is grown on artificial media in the test tube, it might prove to have a great variety of characteristics quite different to those expected from our knowledge of M. leprae isolated from the susceptible host. The cultures might be slow or fast growing, pigmented or colorless, pathogenic for the armadillo, or not; they might produce limited disease in the foot pad of mice, or the contrary. The in vitro M. leprae culture might or might not provoke a lepromine reaction; the culture might grow at a lower or higher temperature. It is well documented that mycobacteria show great differences in elasticity and adaptability to cultivation conditions. It is absolutely certain that once grown in a test tube, M. leprae will behave as an atypical species. However, each individual culture of M. leprae obtained in vitro will have the same drug sensitivity pattern as in the lepromatous leprosy patient from whom it was cultivated.</p>  a0001-5938