01764nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001200055653002400067653003500091653001600126653000900142653001500151653002500166653001100191653001100202653003700213100001200250700001500262700001300277245013300290856004100423300001000464490000700474520097900481022001401460       1990                            d  c1990 Jun10aAnimals10aAntigens, Bacterial10aFluorescent Antibody Technique10aGlycolipids10aMice10aMice, Nude10aMycobacterium leprae10aNorway10aPlants10aSpecific Pathogen-Free Organisms1 aKazda J1 aIrgens L M1 aKolk A H00aAcid-fast bacilli found in sphagnum vegetation of coastal Norway containing Mycobacterium leprae-specific phenolic glycolipid-I.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v58n2a11.pdf  a353-70 v583 a<p>In the grey layer of sphagnum vegetation originating from former leprosy-endemic regions of coastal Norway, acid-fast bacilli (AFB) containing Mycobacterium leprae-specific phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I) on the surface have been found. These AFB survived in foot pads of nude mice with multiplication but without swelling. This contrasts to experimental leprosy with clinically derived M. leprae where swelling and unlimited multiplication takes place. The naturally occurring AFB may be of a lower pathogenicity than M. leprae obtained from clinical cases. The possibility of M. leprae surviving in sphagnum vegetation was assessed by inoculation of clinically derived M. leprae into the grey layer of the sphagnum. It multiplied more than tenfold and retained its pathogenicity in nude mice for 16 weeks, the duration of the experiment. The lack of pathogenicity of sphagnum-derived, M. leprae-like mycobacteria may be relevant to the decline of leprosy in Norway.</p>
  a0148-916X