01362nas a2200217   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653002300051653003800074653002400112653001700136653001100153653001200164100001300176700001600189245005700205300001100262490000600273520085100279022001401130       1991                            d  c199110aAntibody Formation10aEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay10aGalactosylceramides10aGangliosides10aHumans10aleprosy1 aVemuri N1 aMukherjee R00aImmunoreactivity of nerve lipid antigens in leprosy.  a157-610 v53 a<p>Neural lipid antigens, namely, galactocerebroside and ganglioside, have been implicated in demyelinating diseases. We were interested in finding the role of these antigens in leprosy neuritis. The humoral immune response to these lipid antigens was quantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in sera from 91 leprosy patients and 18 normal individuals. Our data revealed the presence of antibodies to total nerve lipids (TNL) and galactocerebroside (GalC) and a significantly low level to ganglioside (Gg) in all the categories of leprosy. No antilipid antibodies were detected in normals. Anti-TNL and anti-GalC antibodies were highest in tuberculoid leprosy patients. Statistically significant positive correlation was observed between anti-TNL and anti-GalC antibodies in lepromatous borderline, tuberculoid, and neuritic patients.</p>  a0887-8013