title: PGL-I antigen and antibody detection in leprosy patients: evolution under chemotherapy.
abstract: Multibacillary (MB) and paucibacillary (PB) leprosy patients were tested for circulating phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) antigen and antibodies before treatment. In the 27 MB patients tested, 27 (100%) were antigen positive with levels ranging from 50 to 5000 ng/ml, and 26 (96%) were antibody positive with titers ranging from 1000 to 64,000. Although the antigen and antibody levels were much higher in MB than in PB patients, we could not demonstrate a correlation between the number of acid-fast bacilli/mg of skin biopsy and these two parameters in 14 MB patients. After starting daily multidrug therapy, 10 MB patients were monitored monthly. As much as 88.75% +/- 10.8% of the PGL-I antigen was cleared from the bloodstream after 1 month while the anti-PGL-I antibody remained stable. This rapid decrease in the PGL-I antigen level strongly suggests the usefulness of this test for monitoring MB patients under chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Institut Territorial de Recherches Médicales Louis Malardé, Papeete, Tahiti.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chanteau
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cartel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Celerier
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Plichart
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Desforges
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roux
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D003622:Dapsone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006017:Glycolipids; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae; D003622:Dapsone