02236nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260002200042653002300064653001600087653001300103653004100116653002000157653001100177653001200188653002500200653003400225653003000259100001800289700001700307700001600324700001400340245012000354300001000474490000800484520144000492022001401932       1986                            d  c1986 Jul 31-Aug 610aBacterial Proteins10aClone Cells10aEpitopes10aHistocompatibility Antigens Class II10aHLA-DR Antigens10aHumans10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aT-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer10aT-Lymphocytes, Regulatory1 aOttenhoff T H1 aElferink D G1 aKlatser P R1 aVries R R00aCloned suppressor T cells from a lepromatous leprosy patient suppress Mycobacterium leprae reactive helper T cells.  a462-40 v3223 a<p>Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. A characteristic feature of the disease is its remarkable spectrum of clinical symptoms correlating with the cellular immune responsiveness of the patient. At one pole of this spectrum are tuberculoid patients displaying both acquired cell-mediated immunity and delayed type hypersensitivity against the bacillus. At the other pole are lepromatous patients which show a specific T-cell unresponsiveness against M. leprae. In between those two poles variable degrees of tuberculoid and lepromatous features may be seen in borderline leprosy patients. Thus far, studies on the mechanism of the antigen specific unresponsiveness in lepromatous leprosy have been contradictory and difficult to interpret, probably because of the use of heterogeneous cell populations in those experiments. We have now succeeded in cloning M. leprae stimulated T-helper (TH) as well as T-suppressor (TS) cells from a borderline lepromatous patient. The TS-clones of this patient specifically suppress responses of peripheral TH cells as well as TH clones induced by both M. leprae and other mycobacteria, but not unrelated antigen or mitogen. These TS cells also completely suppress TH cell responses against a M. leprae specific protein with a relative molecular mass of 36,000 (36K), suggesting the presence of a suppression inducing determinant on this 36K M. leprae protein.</p>  a0028-0836