02176nas a2200337   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001000055653001800065653001100083653001500094653001100109653002500120653002800145653000900173653001600182653001900198653002600217653005200243100002600295700001600321700001900337700002100356700002100377700002100398245014300419300001100562490000700573520124400580022001401824       2010                            d  c2010 Feb10aAdult10aCell Adhesion10aFemale10aHela Cells10aHumans10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aLeukocytes, Mononuclear10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aRNA, Messenger10aReceptors, Interferon10aReverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction1 aGuerrero-Velázquez C1 aLopez-Roa R1 aDelgado-Rizo V1 aGuillen-Vargas C1 aMontoya-Buelna M1 aFafutis-Morris M00aAbnormalities in intracellular processing and expression of interferon-gamma receptor in adherent cells from lepromatous leprosy patients.  a99-1050 v303 a<p>Peripheral blood mononuclear cells in lepromatous leprosy (LL) patients produce low levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-12 (IL-12), and these cells exhibit partial or complete deficiency in the IL-12 receptor. The behavior of the IFN-gamma receptor (IFN-gamma R) has not been described in cells from people with leprosy. We found higher levels of mRNA for IFN-gamma R1 and IFN-gamma R2 in adherent cells stimulated with IFN-gamma and Mycobacterium leprae membrane proteins from LL patients compared with healthy subjects. Flow cytometry showed no significant difference in IFN-gamma R1 expression between LL patients and healthy subjects. Immunoblotting detected only the mature glycosylated form of the 61-67 kDa IFN-gamma R2 protein in healthy subjects. In contrast, cells from LL patients showed three different expression patterns: (1) the immature deglycosylated form of the 34.8 kDa IFN-gamma R2 protein, (2) the mature glycosylated 61-67 kDa form, and (3) both forms. Our data indicate the existence of abnormalities in the intracellular processing and protein expression of the IFN-gamma R in response to specific stimuli such as IFN-gamma and M. leprae membrane proteins in adherent cells of LL patients.</p>  a1557-7465