O-diphenoloxidase concentrations in leprosy.
O-diphenoloxidase activity was studied in 15 patients with lepromatous leprosy, 15 with tuberculois leprosy, and 15 controls. O-diphenoloxidase isolated from skin and serum samples of patients with lepromatous leprosy had the specificity of a bacterially derived enzyme and not that of a mammalian-derived enzyme. Only the patients who had lepromatous leprosy for over two years showed enzyme activity in serum, though all showed it in skin tissue. O-diphenoloxidase activity in serum may be a useful diagnostic marker of lepromatous leprosy.
D000328:Adult; D004156:Catechol Oxidase / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012867:Skin / Q000201:enzymology
D004156:Catechol Oxidase