[Detection of antibodies to M. leprae in saliva of lepric patients].

Saliva of 116 lepric patients were scanned for antibodies in ELISA (with M. leprae cultivated in vitro used as antigen) in order to work out an invasion-free diagnostic tool for lepra. The ELISA findings for "saliva-serum" pairs from same patients showed an increased level of antibodies both in serum and saliva in 39.7% of cases, and matching of results (positive and negative ones) was observed in 73.3% of patients. The increasing level of specific antibodies as observed in intensification of the lepric process in blood serum occurred simultaneously with its increase in saliva. The invasion-free diagnostics of lepra is promising for examinations of contact persons and of population in endemic regions as well as for evaluating the efficiency of the antilepric therapy.

[Leprous neuropathies]. / Leproznye nevropatii.

The damage to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is a marker of Micobacterium leprae (M. leprae) infection that develops as a result of the M. leprae invasion to the Schwann cells. Clinical, functional (skin-deep and stimulating electromyography, determination of the spreading velocity of the pulsatory wave along the arteries of muscle type, direct and volumetric sphingmography, reovasography, skinning electrotermometry) and immunological (evaluation of antibodies to neuroantigenes by ELISA) methods were used to study 132 patients with leprous neuropathy. Sensory impairment (descend of superficial sensibility, combination of the spotted, trunk and polyneuritic types of sensory injury), hypertrophy of the peripheral nerves and their painfulness by palpation were shown to develop at the initial stage, with the following joining of motor and trophic disturbances, such as amyotrophy, contractures, shortening of digits, trophic ulcer. Skin-deep and stimulating electromyography revealed the subclinical manifestation of neuromuscular system injuries in clinically normal muscles. A neuroantigen's entrance into the bloodstream and antibody reactions to them were characteristic of LN. High antibody levels, as a rule, corresponded to the exacerbations of leprous neuropathy, activation of leprous process, relapses of the disease and reactions of leprous erythema nodosum type. An association between specific humoral response to the antigens of the M. leprae and production of the antibodies to neuromarkers was found.

[Comparative characterization of the antigenic composition of M. leprae and M. lufu]. / Sravnitel'naia kharakteristika antigennogo sostava M. leprae i M.lufu.

The antigenic structure of M. leprae and M. lufu was comparatively studied for the first time. M. lufu was found to have M. leprae-specific protein with a molecular weight of 36 kDa. M. leprae and M. lufu were similar in their fractional composition of proteins and an antibody response to determinants with equal molecular weights in patients with different forms of leprosy and its varying severity. The findings may improve a diagnostic system in leprosy by using M. lufu antigens as an alternative.

[Electron microscopy of Mycobacterium leprae passed in laboratory animals]. / Elektronno-mikroskopicheskoe issledovanie Mycobacterium leprae, passiruemykh na laboratornykh zhivotnykh.

The ultrastructure of M. leprae was studied in the process of its intraplantar passage from man to mice (passages 1-8). Changes in the morphology of M. leprae, observed in the course of 3 passages, were established. From the phase of dormant forms (passage 1) the bacteria became adapted to the new host by passage 3, which was confirmed by the absence of differences in the ultrastructure of cells by passages 3-8. The possibilities of the phenotypic variability of M. leprae in the process of in vivo passage should be taken into consideration when they are used for the production of specific biopreparations, experimental modeling and the screening of antileprous preparations.

[The comparative cultural-biochemical and immunochemical identification of laboratory strains of cultured mycobacteria from leprous patient lesions and from soil]. / Sranitel'naia kul'tural'no-biokhimicheskaia i immunokhimicheskaia identifikatsiia laboratornykh shtammov kul'tiviruemykh mikobakterii iz leproznykh porazhenii bol'nykh i pochvy.

The paper presents the results of studied of cultural biochemical and immunochemical properties of the cultured mycobacteria isolated from patients with leprous lesions of (M.01, M.011) and the soil (M. lufu) in compared to other well-known mycobacteria and between them. M.01, M.011, and M. lufu differ from other representatives of the genus Mycobacterium, but they are close to each other in their cultural biochemical and immunochemical properties, antigenic composition, and protein spectra. The findings are an additional characteristic of the biological properties of M.01, M.011, and M. lufu.

[The electron immunochemical detection of mycobacterial antigens in the granulomas of leprosy patients]. / Elektronno-immunokhimicheskoi vyiavlenie mikobakterial'nykh antigenov v granulemakh bol'nykh leproi.

M.leprae antigens (Ag) in skin granuloma macrophages from 10 untreated patients with active lepromatous leprosy were studied with the use of electron microscopic immunochemical methods. Peroxidase-conjugated antirabbit antibodies to M.leprae and M.avium were used. M.leprae Ag were found to be located in mycobacterial microcapsules, as well as in collagen fibers of the derma and the connective tissue of blood vessels with the signs of damaged collagen. In the latter case fixed immune complexes producing a damaging action on collagen fibers were probably detected together with free M.leprae Ag. The use of immunocytochemical methods may be rather valuable in the diagnosis of the indeterminate and tuberculoid forms of leprosy.

[A microtitration variant of the latex agglutination reaction in the diagnosis of leprosy]. / Mikrotitratsionnyi variant reaktsii lateks-aggliutinatsii v diagnostike lepry.

The authors describe the preparation of antigenic diagnostic agent based on stained polyacrolein latex particles conjugated with beta-(3-aminopropyl) 3, 6-dimethylglucopiranoside (DMG), a synthetic analog of PSL = 1 from M. leprae (L-PMG), and its use in the microtitration variant of latex agglutination for the serological diagnosis of lepra. The test was performed in polystyrene plates. A total of 45 blood sera of patients with lepra, 34 sera of subjects who had contacts with leper patients, and 148 control samples were tested. The level of antibodies to DMG was found to be related to the bacterial loading of the patient. If the patients with regressive are seropositive, it means that persistent forms of M.leprae are present in their organs and tissues. "Nonleprous" sera did not react with L-PMG. The microtitration latex agglutination test proved to be highly specific (93.3%) and sufficiently sensitive (87.3%). It is rapid and simple, the results may be assessed visually; this recommends the method for seroepidemiologic screening in the regions where lepra cases are recorded.

[The isolation of monoclonal antibodies to strains of Mycobacterium leprae passed through laboratory animals]. / Poluchenie monoklonal'nykh antitel k shtammam mikobakterii lepry, passiruemym na laboratornykh zhivotnykh.

Hybridoma synthetizing monoclonal antibodies (mAB) IIIE4 has been obtained in hybridization of myeloma P3-X63-Ag8. 653 cells and splenocytes from BALB/c mice immunized with M. leprae passaged on rats. The mAB specificity evaluated by enzyme immunoassay using ultrasonic disintegrates of M. leprae obtained from human, Dasypus novemcinctus, rat lepromas as well as mycobacteria of 7 species and E. coli indicated that the mAB reacted only with mycobacteria passaged on the rats. They had weak cross reactivity with M. avium.

[Diagnostic test systems based on the immunoenzyme method in leprosy]. / Diagnosticheskie test-sistemy na osnove immunofermentnogo metoda pri lepre.

Diagnostic test systems for the detection of IgG and IgM to Mycobacterium leprae in the blood sera of leprosy patients and armadillos experimentally infected with M. leprae have been developed on the basis of the indirect immunoperoxidase assay. The possibility has been shown of prognosing the activity of the leprotic process in leprosy patients and the results of the experimental infection of armadillos by the dynamic increase of antibody reactions with the development of the infection.