01690nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260001700042653001200059653002600071653002400097653001500121653001600136653002100152653001200173653002500185100001200210700001200222700001500234700001600249700001700265245010500282300001200387490000700399050003200406520094800438022001401386       1990                            d  c1990 Apr-Jun10aAnimals10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aArmadillos10aGlycolipids10aImmunoglobulin M10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae1 aJob C K1 aDrain V1 aTruman R W1 aSanchez R M1 aHastings R C00aEarly infection with M. leprae and antibodies to phenolic glycolipid-I in the nine-banded armadillo.  a193-2010 v62  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>Nine-banded armadillos were intravenously infected with 10(9) M. leprae. IgM antibodies to PGL-I were evaluated three times during the six months before and every two months after the infection. A thorough autopsy examination was done on animals that died or were sacrificed at intervals of 3, 4, 6, 12, 15 and 18 months after the infection. Three animals which had acquired the infection in the wild and one experimentally infected animal showed significant increases in antibody levels corresponding to their high bacterial load. In the other five experimentally infected animals, M. leprae infection was established in the cells of the reticulo endothelial system (RES) long before the IgM antibody levels to PGL-I became positive. It is possible that in human leprosy also M. leprae may enter and multiply in the RES initiating antibody production during the incubation period before clinical disease with neuritis becomes manifest.</p>  a0254-9395