01525nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001260001700042653003000059653001200089653001800101653001600119653001800135653001100153653001200164653001600176653002500192653003100217100001100248245009900259300001000358520090100368022001401269       1979                            d  c1979 Apr-Jun10aAdaptation, Physiological10aAnimals10aCell Division10aCholesterol10aCulture Media10aHumans10aleprosy10aMacrophages10aMycobacterium leprae10aMycobacterium lepraemurium1 aKato L00aCholesterol dynamics in macrophages implication for the bacteriology and pathology of leprosy.  a35-473 a<p>M. leprae in the host multiplies abundantly in macrophages rich in cholesterol. Host-grown leprosy bacilli have an extremely high cholesterol content and in this respect they occupy a unique place among procariotic cells. M. leprae takes up cholesterol from the environment and it is not clear whether it can synthesize cholesterol and if so from which precursors. Mycobacteria can be grown from leprous tissues in primary cultures only in the presence of cholesterol. These strains quickly adapt to in vitro substrates and are able to synthesize cholesterol from still-unknown chemical entities, which are also sources of carbon and energy. These still unknown substrates will probably have to be discovered before cultivation of these elusive microorganisms is achieved and we approach a better understanding of the chemical mediators in the cellular defence and/or pathology of leprosy.</p>  a0001-5938