Dependence of proliferative activity of lymphocytes on basal levels of lymphocytic cyclic nucleotides in lepromatous leprosy patients.

: The correlation between the lymphocyte blast transformation test and the basal levels of cyclic nucleotides (cAMP and cGMP) in lymphocytes was studied in 30 patients with lepromatous leprosy and 14 healthy persons. Cells in cultures of whole blood were stimulated with PPD and PHA. As compared to healthy persons, leprosy patients showed inversion of the role of cGMP basal levels in proliferative activity of lymphocytes in a response to PPD. The data obtained give rise to a hypothesis which might explain the low effectiveness of immune stimulators in leprosy.