01568nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260001700042653003000059653002000089653001300109653001100122653001100133653002400144653001200168653002600180653000900206653002500215653003100240653001800271653001600289100001800305700001300323245015000336300001000486490000700496520074900503022001401252       1989                            d  c1989 Jul-Aug10aCell Migration Inhibition10aCross Reactions10aEpitopes10aFemale10aHumans10aIn Vitro Techniques10aleprosy10aLymphocyte Activation10aMale10aMycobacterium leprae10aMycobacterium tuberculosis10aT-Lymphocytes10aVaccination1 aRawlinson W D1 aBasten A00aCross-reactivity of Mycobacterium leprae and M. tuberculosis and the implications for assessment of in vitro T cell function in leprosy patients.  a557-90 v833 a<p>The cross-reactivity in vitro between Mycobacterium leprae and M. tuberculosis was studied in 41 Aboriginal Australians with leprosy, 78 uninfected contacts of leprosy patients and 38 control individuals. A vigorous T cell response to epitopes cross-reactive between these two mycobacteria was found for healthy uninfected contacts or non-contacts (controls) of leprosy patients, but not for the patients themselves. The data suggest that a vaccine based on antigen shared between M. leprae and other mycobacteria is unlikely to be useful in preventing leprosy. Further studies of responses in vitro to purified T cell-reactive antigens would be useful in designing newer vaccines for more widespread field studies of leprosy prevention.</p>  a0035-9203