%A Azouaou N
%A Gelber2,6 RH
%A Abel K
%A Sasaki DT
%A Murray LP
%A Locksley RM
%T Reconstitution of Mycobacterium leprae immunity in severe combined immunodeficient mice using a t-cell line
%0 Journal Article
%D 1993
%J International Journal of Leprosy and other Mycobacterial Diseases
%P 0148-916X
%V 61
%N 3
%X To test whether Mycobacterium lepracimmune T cells can confer protection against infection with leprosy bacilli, severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice were reconstituted with a BALB/c-derived, M. leprae-responsive, T-cell line. Flow cytometric analysis of spleen and peripheral blood cells confirmed reconstitution with T cells. In vitro lymphokine production and the proliferation of spleen cells f rom the reconstituted animals established that the donor cells had maintained their functional activity for the duration of the study (275 days). The transfer of immune T cells 24 hr before foot pad infection with leprosy bacilli resulted in a profound reduction in M. leprae multiplication, as compared to the nonreconstituted SCID mice. The yield of acidfast bacilli in the foot pads of SCID mice reconstituted with the M. leprae-immune T cells also was significantly lower than that found in naive BALB/c mice, and at levels previously found only in BALB/c mice that had been immunized effectively. These experiments demonstrate that M. leprae-immune T cells home effectively and control M. leprae infection in SCID mice.