Lymphocyte transfer reactions in leprosy patients.

Antigenic heterogeneity in patients with reactions in borderline leprosy.

Fifteen patients with borderline leprosy who developed "reversal" reactions were studied from the inception of treatment. Thirteen showed an appreciable increase in lymphocyte transformation (LT) when preparations of Mycobacterium leprae were used as antigen. The LT responses to either "whole" or "sonicated" preparations of the bacillus in these 15 patients and in nine others also in reaction c...

Studies of human leprosy lesions in situ using suction-induced blisters: cell changes with IgM antibody to PGL-1 and interleukin-2 receptor in clinical subgroups of erythema nodosum leprosum.

To examine the immunopathogenesis of type 2 erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL) reactions in leprosy, we studied cellular and soluble immunologic components of skin lesions in 57 patients with reactions (19 acute ENL and 38 chronic ENL), 61 active patients without reactions, and 33 control patients whose leprosy had been treated and cured. Cells, IgM antibody to PGL-1 and Tac peptide levels were ob...

Learning from lesions: patterns of tissue inflammation in leprosy.

The clinical forms of leprosy constitute a spectrum that correlates closely with the degree of cell-mediated immunity. Patients with tuberculoid leprosy develop strong cell-mediated responses and have only a few, localized lesions, whereas patients with multibacillary lepromatous leprosy are specifically unresponsive to antigens of Myobacterium leprae. T cells of the CD4+ subset predominate in ...

Lymphocyte transformation test in leprosy: decreased lymphocyte reactivity to Mycobacterium leprae in lepromatous leprosy, with no evidence for a generalized impairment.

Untreated leprosy patients were examined with respect to lymphocyte transformation in vitro after stimulation with mycobacterial and other microbial antigens, allogeneic lymphocytes, or nonspecific mitogens. Methods were used to circumvent technical variability. The results were compared with those obtained in controls matched for age, sex, race, and environment. No evidence was found for a gen...

Quantitative dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) responsivity and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) induced lymphocyte transformation in patients with lepromatous leprosy.