02271nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002400055653001600079653001100095653002500106653001200131653002400143653002300167653000900190100001100199700001200210700001300222700001400235700001200249245009000261300001100351490000700362520161000369022001401979       1992                            d  c1992 Nov10aAntigens, Bacterial10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aImmunohistochemistry10aleprosy10aLipopolysaccharides10aParaffin Embedding10aSkin1 aWang T1 aIzumi S1 aButt K I1 aKawatsu K1 aMaeda Y00aDemonstration of PGL-I & LAM-B antigens in paraffin sections of leprosy skin lesions.  a165-740 v613 a<p>An investigation on the demonstration of PGL-I and LAM-B antigens in thirty-four paraffin embedded skin biopsies taken from leprosy patients who covered the whole spectrum of the disease and in four control specimens was carried out. Neither the PGL-I antigen nor the LAM-B antigen was demonstrated in the normal skin specimens that were used as negative control; and only the LAM-B antigen appeared in the tuberculosis specimens in which the PGL-I antigen was negative. The PGL-I antigen was demonstrated on thirty-three leprosy samples except one TT sample and the LAM-B antigen, on all samples by immunochemical staining technique. The antigens were identified as intracytoplasmic bacillary staining, in solitary, granular as well as debris patterns; and as soluble antigenic staining, in vacuolar or amorphous pattern. In LL and BL cases, the antigens were detected predominantly from macrophages and peripheral nerves in all five staining patterns; in BB cases, from macrophages mostly in the granular as well as debris patterns, from the nerves in the vacuolar pattern; while in TT and the majority of BT cases, they were mainly from nerve remnants inside the granuloma in the vacuolar or amorphous staining pattern. In addition, it is interesting to note that the immunochemical staining was able to differentiate the foamy change from the hydropic degeneration. We also found that the antigens distributed in arrector pili muscles and the walls of muscular vessels were obviously related to the unmyelinated nerve fibers innervating the smooth muscle cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)</p>  a0386-3980