leidoscope References 1 Hoffmann, G.W. (1988)in The Semiotics of Cellular Communication in the Immune System (Sercarz E. et al.,
Possible roles of anti-
Mycobacterium leprae antibodies in suppression of the cell-mediated immune response against M. leprae Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, and is characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical forms, ranging from tuberculoid leprosy on the one pole to lepromatous leprosy on the other one. Cell-mediated i m m u n i t y (CMI) plays an important role in protection against M. leprae infection, and tuberculoid-type patients exhibit strong CMI. In contrast, lepromatous-type patients have absent or reduced cellular immunity. The factors that influence the level of CMI responses are not, as yet, clear ~.2. Exposure to M. leprae induces CMI and production of anti-M. leprae antibodies, but an inverse correlation between CMI and M. leprae antibody levels develops3'4. It is possible that the CMI downregu-
Cytokines - A Practical Approach edited by F.R. Balkwill, 1992. IRL, Oxford University Press, 1991. £25.00 (380 pages) ISBN 019 963214 6 Cytokines are i m p o r t a n t in the growth, development and maturation of cells, and are central to tissue remodelling and the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. Since cytokine biology is of such fundamental importance and since the field is advancing rapidly, it is no surprise to find
eds), pp. 257-2"1, Springer Vcrlag, New York 2 Hoffmann, (;.W., Kion, T.A. and Grant, M.D. ( I c~91) Proc. Natl Acad.
Sci. USA 88, 3060-3064 3 Habeshaw, J., Hounsell, E. and Dalgleish, A. (1992) lmmunol. Today 6, 207-210
lates, by diminishing the M. leprae load, the level of anti-M, leprae antibodies. Here, we propose that anti-M, leprae antibodies downregulate the CMI. There have been several reports 5-7 of M. leprae T-cell antigens reacting with anti-M, leprae antibodies. Thus, these M. leprae antigens (especially those capable of inducing a protective response) stimulate both a cell-mediated and a humoral response. If the antibodies mask the M. leprae antigens expressed on the membranes of antigen-presenting cells, interaction between protective M. leprae antigens and T cells will be inhibited. The production of neutralizing anti-M, leprae antibodies may be influenced by intrinsic factors of the host, environmental factors and the strain of M. leprae; these factors may contribute to the spectrum of clinical forms. The higher the titre of such anti-M, leprae antibodies, the greater the suppression of CM1 and the more likely the development of lepromatous type of leprosy. On the other hand, if
the anti-M, leprae antibody concentration is low, then CMI may be strong and the individual might be resistant to M. leprae infection or might develop a tuberculoid type of leprosy.
References 1 Kaplan, G. and Cohn~ Z.A. (1991) Curr. Opin. lmmunol. 3, 91-96 2 Dharmendra and Chatterjee, K.R. (1955) Lep. Ind. 27, 149-1,54 3 Ridley,D.S. and Jopling, W.H. (1966) Int. J. Lep. 34, 255-273 4 Kaplan, G. and Cohn, Z.A. (1986) lnt. Rev. Exp. Pathol. 28, 45-78 5 Lamb, J.R. and Rees, A.D.M. (1988) Brit. Med. Bull. 44, 600-610 6 Harris, D.P., Backstrom, B.T., Booth, R.J. et al. (1989) J. lmmunol. 143, 2006-2012 7 Watson, J.D. (1989) lmmunol. Today 10, 218-221
several new books on the subject in recent years. It is, however, something of a mystery to me why the excellent 'Practical A p p r o a c h ' series often strays from basing books on groups of techniques (as in 'Gel Electrophoresis of Proteins') into discussing subject areas. Perhaps I would have appreciated this book more had it been entitled 'Cytokine Bioassays - A Practical Approach', since I would not then have been so disappointed by the balance of molecular biology to cell biology techniques. The book does contain an alarming array of bioassays and, although some chapters are excellent, I feel that newcomers
to the field would benefit from stronger warnings of the dangers of endotoxin contamination and stimulation of cells by in vitro handling. The four chapters (out of 23) which are devoted to molecular analysis of cytokine genes are of mixed q u a l i t y with some very demanding techniques described in quite a cursory manner while, in another chapter, two entire pages are devoted to pouring and running agarose gels. A more cohesive policy would have been helpful here. The chapter on quantitative RT-PCR is remarkable in that it completely fails to describe the quantitation of RT-PCR. Although
Immunology Today
5 13
Om Parkash U. Sengupta Dept of Immunology, Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy, Tal Ganj, Agra 282001, India.
vol 13 No. 12 ?992
Possible roles of anti-
Mycobacterium leprae antibodies in suppression of the cell-mediated immune response against M. leprae Leprosy is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, and is characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical forms, ranging from tuberculoid leprosy on the one pole to lepromatous leprosy on the other one. Cell-mediated i m m u n i t y (CMI) plays an important role in protection against M. leprae infection, and tuberculoid-type patients exhibit strong CMI. In contrast, lepromatous-type patients have absent or reduced cellular immunity. The factors that influence the level of CMI responses are not, as yet, clear ~.2. Exposure to M. leprae induces CMI and production of anti-M. leprae antibodies, but an inverse correlation between CMI and M. leprae antibody levels develops3'4. It is possible that the CMI downregu-
Cytokines - A Practical Approach edited by F.R. Balkwill, 1992. IRL, Oxford University Press, 1991. £25.00 (380 pages) ISBN 019 963214 6 Cytokines are i m p o r t a n t in the growth, development and maturation of cells, and are central to tissue remodelling and the regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. Since cytokine biology is of such fundamental importance and since the field is advancing rapidly, it is no surprise to find
eds), pp. 257-2"1, Springer Vcrlag, New York 2 Hoffmann, (;.W., Kion, T.A. and Grant, M.D. ( I c~91) Proc. Natl Acad.
Sci. USA 88, 3060-3064 3 Habeshaw, J., Hounsell, E. and Dalgleish, A. (1992) lmmunol. Today 6, 207-210
lates, by diminishing the M. leprae load, the level of anti-M, leprae antibodies. Here, we propose that anti-M, leprae antibodies downregulate the CMI. There have been several reports 5-7 of M. leprae T-cell antigens reacting with anti-M, leprae antibodies. Thus, these M. leprae antigens (especially those capable of inducing a protective response) stimulate both a cell-mediated and a humoral response. If the antibodies mask the M. leprae antigens expressed on the membranes of antigen-presenting cells, interaction between protective M. leprae antigens and T cells will be inhibited. The production of neutralizing anti-M, leprae antibodies may be influenced by intrinsic factors of the host, environmental factors and the strain of M. leprae; these factors may contribute to the spectrum of clinical forms. The higher the titre of such anti-M, leprae antibodies, the greater the suppression of CM1 and the more likely the development of lepromatous type of leprosy. On the other hand, if
the anti-M, leprae antibody concentration is low, then CMI may be strong and the individual might be resistant to M. leprae infection or might develop a tuberculoid type of leprosy.
References 1 Kaplan, G. and Cohn~ Z.A. (1991) Curr. Opin. lmmunol. 3, 91-96 2 Dharmendra and Chatterjee, K.R. (1955) Lep. Ind. 27, 149-1,54 3 Ridley,D.S. and Jopling, W.H. (1966) Int. J. Lep. 34, 255-273 4 Kaplan, G. and Cohn, Z.A. (1986) lnt. Rev. Exp. Pathol. 28, 45-78 5 Lamb, J.R. and Rees, A.D.M. (1988) Brit. Med. Bull. 44, 600-610 6 Harris, D.P., Backstrom, B.T., Booth, R.J. et al. (1989) J. lmmunol. 143, 2006-2012 7 Watson, J.D. (1989) lmmunol. Today 10, 218-221
several new books on the subject in recent years. It is, however, something of a mystery to me why the excellent 'Practical A p p r o a c h ' series often strays from basing books on groups of techniques (as in 'Gel Electrophoresis of Proteins') into discussing subject areas. Perhaps I would have appreciated this book more had it been entitled 'Cytokine Bioassays - A Practical Approach', since I would not then have been so disappointed by the balance of molecular biology to cell biology techniques. The book does contain an alarming array of bioassays and, although some chapters are excellent, I feel that newcomers
to the field would benefit from stronger warnings of the dangers of endotoxin contamination and stimulation of cells by in vitro handling. The four chapters (out of 23) which are devoted to molecular analysis of cytokine genes are of mixed q u a l i t y with some very demanding techniques described in quite a cursory manner while, in another chapter, two entire pages are devoted to pouring and running agarose gels. A more cohesive policy would have been helpful here. The chapter on quantitative RT-PCR is remarkable in that it completely fails to describe the quantitation of RT-PCR. Although
Immunology Today
5 13
Om Parkash U. Sengupta Dept of Immunology, Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy, Tal Ganj, Agra 282001, India.
vol 13 No. 12 ?992
