title: Cell response to a salt-extractable and sonicated Brucella melitensis 16M antigen in human brucellosis.
abstract: We compared the immunological responses of leukocytes taken from healthy negative controls, laboratory workers immunized with the phenol-insoluble French vaccine against brucellosis, patients acutely ill with brucellosis, and patients chronically infected with Brucella melitensis. A salt-extractable antigen (protein-rich but with traces of lipopolysaccharide) and a sonicated suspension from B. melitensis 16M were used as antigens for in vitro lymphocyte proliferation test. Quantitation of T cells showed that the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ cells decreased as the condition of the patient deteriorated. An assay to quantitate the cell-mediated immunity showed that the activities of mononuclear cells stimulated with concanavalin A increased as the disease progressed as well.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Colonia Santo Tomás, México D.F., México.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Moreno-Lafont
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López-Merino
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: López-Santiago
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000276:immunology*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000276:immunology*; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D003208:Concanavalin A; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D012492:Salts; D013010:Sonication
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D012492:Salts; D003208:Concanavalin A