Relationship between M. leprae and BCG on the Skin Reaction (1st Report)

Results on the skin reactions in sensitized guinea pigs

Abstract

Relationship between the tuberculin reaction and the reaction to Dharmendra's antigen have been investigated in peoples contained all population, and it was recognized that these relation of both reactions were different each other in the examined towns or villages. Therefore, the relationship between M. leprae and M. tuberculosis or BCG related to tuberculin reaction was studied on the skin test in experimental animals.
The reaction to Dharmendra's antigen was compared with the reaction to old tuberculin or PPD-s prepared from M. tuberculosis hominis and the reaction to Mitsuda's antigen was compared with the reaction to the heat-killed tubercle bacilli suspension with tissue prepared from healthy persons in guinea pigs sensitized by the heat-killed tubercle bacilli or BCG with adjuvant.
The averaged sizes of reactions to old tuberculin, PPD-s or the heat-killed tubercle bacilli suspension with tissue were about equal each other in both sensitized guinea pigs, but the averaged sizes of reactions to Dharmendra's or Mitsuda's antigens in BCG-sensitized animals were larger than the sizes of both reactions in animals sensitized by tubercle bacilli. From these results, it seems that the common antigen contained in M. leprae and BCG is more than that contained in M. leprae and M. tuberculosis.
The size of reaction to Mitsuda's antigen and the heat-killed mycobacteria suspension with tissue in healthy or sensitized guinea pigs were investigated for four weeks after the injection of antigen. The largest size of reaction was seen at 24 hrs, after the injection of antigen and the size of reaction at 5_??_28 days was smaller than that at 1_??_3 days after the injection of antigen. Therefore, the phenomenon of "pre existence hypersensitivity" explained by Wade was not observed in these animal experiments.