Inhibition of the multiplication of Mycobacterium leprae by vaccination with a recombinant M. bovis BCG strain that secretes major membrane protein II in mice.

The ability of a recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG strain that secretes major membrane protein II (MMP-II) of Mycobacterium leprae (BCG-SM) to confer protection against leprosy was evaluated by use of a mouse footpad model. C57BL/6J mice intradermally inoculated with BCG-SM produced splenic T cells which secreted significant amounts of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in response to either the recombinant MMP-II, the M. leprae-derived membrane fraction, or the BCG-derived cytosolic fraction in vitro more efficiently than those from the mice infected with the vector control BCG strain (BCG-pMV, a BCG strain containing pMV-261). A higher percentage of CD8(+) T cells obtained from BCG-SM-inoculated mice than those obtained from BCG-pMV-inoculated mice produced intracellular IFN-gamma on restimulation with the M. leprae antigens. BCG-SM inhibited the multiplication of M. leprae in the footpads of C57BL/6J mice more efficiently than BCG-pMV. These results indicate that a BCG strain that secretes MMP-II could be a better vaccine candidate for leprosy.

Mixed agglutination with guinea pig tissue sediments for detection of heterophile antibodies.

Mixed agglutination (MA) test with sediments of guinea pig kidney (GPK) homogenates and indicator red blood cells of bovine (BRBC) or sheep (SRBC) origin was established for detection of human heterophile antibodies. By means of MA test with BRBC indicator cells, heterophile antibodies of Hanganutziu-Deicher (H-D) specificity were demonstrated in sera of patients with syphilis (20%), lepromatous leprosy (57%), infectious mononucleosis (45%), Chediak-Higashi syndrome (73%), Kawasaki disease (58%), multiple sclerosis (58%), and leukemias (13%), as well as in sera of subjects who received injections of foreign species sera (20%). Some but not all BRBC-positive sera gave positive MA tests when SRBC were employed as indicator cells. None of 13 multiple myeloma sera tested gave positive results. The incidence of positive reactions in normal human sera was 3%. Neutralization of H-D antibodies in representative pathologic sera by purified heterophile antigens showed that the antibodies under investigation were mostly directed against antigen(s) of high molecular weight glycoprotein, but not N-glycolyl-neuraminic acid (NGNA) ganglioside fraction of BRBC.