Biomaterial Database

Lepromin-induced suppressor cells in lepromatous leprosy. 1987

E E Nelson, and L Wong, and K Uyemura, and T H Rea, and R L Modlin

The presence or absence of suppressor cells in leprosy patients was investigated by measuring peripheral blood lepromin-induced suppression of the Con A response. Significant suppressor activity was measured in 15 of 15 untreated or recently treated patients with lepromatous leprosy and 3 of 5 patients with borderline lepromatous leprosy. In addition, in patients with lepromatous leprosy, suppressor cell activity was found in 10 of 14 patients that had been under treatment for more than 1 year but in only 2 of 27 patients who had active or thalidomide controlled erythema nodosum leprosum. Suppression was observed in only 5 of 29 tuberculoid leprosy patients, 1 of 6 patient contacts, and 0 of 11 normal controls. The differences between the lepromatous or borderline lepromatous group as compared with the tuberculoid group were statistically significant (P less than 0.001). Our findings confirm the presence of lepromin-triggered suppressor cells in the peripheral blood of patients with lepromatous leprosy. These suppressor cells may contribute to the selective unresponsiveness of lepromatous patients to the antigens of Mycobacterium leprae.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007916	Lepromin
D007918	Leprosy	A chronic granulomatous infection caused by MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAE. The granulomatous lesions are manifested in the skin, the mucous membranes, and the peripheral nerves. Two polar or principal types are lepromatous and tuberculoid.	Hansen's Disease,Hansen Disease
D003208	Concanavalin A	A MANNOSE/GLUCOSE binding lectin isolated from the jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis). It is a potent mitogen used to stimulate cell proliferation in lymphocytes, primarily T-lymphocyte, cultures.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D050378	T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory	CD4-positive T cells that inhibit immunopathology or autoimmune disease in vivo. They inhibit the immune response by influencing the activity of other cell types. Regulatory T-cells include naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ cells, IL-10 secreting Tr1 cells, and Th3 cells.	Regulatory T Cell,Regulatory T-Cell,Regulatory T-Lymphocyte,Regulatory T-Lymphocytes,Suppressor T-Lymphocytes, Naturally-Occurring,T-Cells, Regulatory,Th3 Cells,Tr1 Cell,Treg Cell,Regulatory T-Cells,Suppressor T-Cells, Naturally-Occurring,Tr1 Cells,Treg Cells,Cell, Regulatory T,Cell, Th3,Cell, Tr1,Cell, Treg,Cells, Regulatory T,Cells, Th3,Cells, Tr1,Cells, Treg,Naturally-Occurring Suppressor T-Cell,Naturally-Occurring Suppressor T-Cells,Naturally-Occurring Suppressor T-Lymphocyte,Naturally-Occurring Suppressor T-Lymphocytes,Regulatory T Cells,Regulatory T Lymphocyte,Regulatory T Lymphocytes,Suppressor T Cells, Naturally Occurring,Suppressor T Lymphocytes, Naturally Occurring,Suppressor T-Cell, Naturally-Occurring,Suppressor T-Lymphocyte, Naturally-Occurring,T Cell, Regulatory,T Cells, Regulatory,T Lymphocytes, Regulatory,T-Cell, Naturally-Occurring Suppressor,T-Cells, Naturally-Occurring Suppressor,T-Lymphocyte, Regulatory,Th3 Cell