02326nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002400055653001000079653001100089653001300100653001200113653002600125653003500151653002500186100001400211700001400225700001800239700002000257700002000277245017400297856007700471300001100548490000700559050001400566520143000580022001402010       1978                            d  c1978 Dec10aAntigens, Bacterial10aBlood10aHumans10aLepromin10aleprosy10aLymphocyte Activation10aLymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed10aMycobacterium leprae1 aFaber W R1 aLeiker DL1 aNengerman I M1 aZeijlemaker W P1 aSchellekens P T00aLymphocyte transformation test in leprosy: decreased lymphocyte reactivity to Mycobacterium leprae in lepromatous leprosy, with no evidence for a generalized impairment.  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC422209/pdf/iai00204-0019.pdf  a649-560 v22  aFABER19783 a<p>Untreated leprosy patients were examined with respect to lymphocyte transformation in vitro after stimulation with mycobacterial and other microbial antigens, allogeneic lymphocytes, or nonspecific mitogens. Methods were used to circumvent technical variability. The results were compared with those obtained in controls matched for age, sex, race, and environment. No evidence was found for a generalized impairment of lymphocyte transformation in vitro, whereas a specific defect towards Mycobacterium leprae was demonstrable in lepromatous leprosy patients. The response to M. leprae, investigated in untreated and treated leprosy patients, decreased along the leprosy spectrum. Moreover, the results of the one-way mixed lymphocyte cultures showed that lymphocytes from leprosy patients had a normal stimulator and responder capacity, when they were tested against a panel of allogeneic lymphocytes. The influence of serum factors was investigated in untreated leprosy patients in the mixed lymphocyte culture. On average, tuberculoid as well as lepromatous sera showed a low-level depressive effect, but some sera showed a stimulatory effect. Therefore, a depressive effect of serum factors cannot be considered to be a general feature of leprosy. The correlation between the Mitsuda type of lepromin skin test and the lymphocyte reactivity in vitro to M. leprae was studied, and a positive correlation was found.</p>  a0019-9567