Abstract
Circulating immune complexes (CIC) in 100 patients with leprosy were detected by Clq solid-phase radioimmunoassay and the value of CIC was compared with the titer of anti-M. leprae antibody measured by solid-phase radioimmunoassay.
The frequency of detection of CIC in patients with with leprosy was 67 percent and the mean value was 13.5±8.3μg/ml. In sera of patients with epromatous leprosy, CIC were more frequently detected (71%) compared with tuberculoid leprosy (30%). In patients with lepromatous leprosy, it was 82 percent for patients with Bacterial Index (BI) positive, and 64 percent for BI negative during 1 to 15 years, 66 percent for BI negative during over 15 years. On the same, CIC were detected more frequently in sera of patients under treatment with DDS and/or RFP (67%) and patients complicated with ENL (79%) in omparison with untreated patients or patients without ENL. However, there were no significant differences in the mean value of CIC between each subgroup.
The titer of antibody to M. leprae in patients with lepromatous leprosy was higher that in patients with tuberculoid leprosy, in contacts and in healthy controls. the correlation between the amounts of CIC and the titers of anti-M. leprae antibody was statistically significant in lepromatous leprosy (r=0.66, p<0.01). These results seemed to suggest that CIC detected in leprosy, especially in lepromatous patients, was composed partially of M. leprae antigens and anti-M. leprae antibodies.
According to the observation of the three lepromatous cases complicated with ENL for about 6 months, it was found that CIC in sera of patients with lepromatous leprosy were detectable often by Clq assay although they were not complicated with ENL and the amounts of CIC were not altered so widely at the time even if after ENL was complicated.
