| Abstract: | We investigated nine rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) inoculated with Mycobacterium leprae and three normal human contacts. Peripheral blood monocytes were separated into Fc receptor positive (FcR+) and Fc receptor negative (FcR-) fractions, and their regulatory role in the lymphoproliferative response in vitro to M. leprae was studied. FcR- monocytes had strong antigen presentation activity and produced no suppressor effect while FcR+ monocytes had weak antigen presentation activity and produced a non-specific suppressor factor spontaneously. With this assay system we determined that M. leprae-inoculated rhesus monkeys could be divided into three groups: good responders, very weak responders, and non-responders. |
