Home LiteratureArticle Details
PMID: 4120605 Published · ppublish English Journal Article

Cytochemical reactions of human leprosy bacilli and mycobacteria: ultrastructural implications.

Journal of bacteriology ·Vol. 113 ·No. 3 ·1973-03-00 ·Pages 1389-99

Fisher CA, Barksdale L

Abstract

Leprosy bacilli harvested from freshly biopsied tissue from cases of lepromatous, borderline and histoid leprosy were, in conjunction with Mycobacterium lepraemurium and representative mycobacteria, examined cytochemically with and without their pyridine-extractable acid-fastness. Unlike the mycobacteria, unextracted leprosy bacilli failed to give a positive response to the periodic acid Schiff test or to take up Sudan black B, toluidine blue O, alkaline methylene blue or safranin O. Once their acid-fastness was removed with pyridine, leprosy bacilli were stained by all of the foregoing dyes except Sudan black B, under this condition they remained gram positive. While permanent loss of acid-fastness from leprosy bacilli always resulted in a loss of acid hematein-fixing material (Smith-Dietrich-Baker tests), the reverse was not true. Mild aqueous saponification, bromination, or sequential treatment with lipase and phospholipase D resulted in a loss of acid hematein-positivity but not acid-fastness. After pyridine extraction, bromination, or aqueous saponification, true mycobacteria lost neither their acid hematein-positivity nor their acid-fastness. The acid hematein-positive material and the acid-fastness of both leprosy bacilli and mycobacteria were lost after treatment with alkaline ethanol. These cytochemical findings are discussed in the light of what is known of the ultrastructure of leprosy bacilli and mycobacteria, and of the occurrence of a dl-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine oxidase in leprosy bacilli but not in mycobacteria. An effort is made to explain the rather unique cytochemical properties of leprosy bacilli. Since pyridine-extractable acid-fastness (and acid hematein-positivity) serve to distinguish human leprosy bacilli from M. lepraemurium, one or the other, or both, are suggested as bases for differentiating these two organisms in animal experiments designed to show the in vivo propagation of human leprosy bacilli.

MeSH Terms
Acids Biopsy Catechol Oxidase/metabolism Cell Wall Chloroform Enzymes Ethanol Ethyl Ethers Histocytochemistry Humans Inclusion Bodies Leprosy/microbiology Lipids Mycobacterium/cytology,enzymology Mycobacterium leprae/cytology,enzymology,isolation & purification Mycobacterium lepraemurium/cytology Periodic Acid Pyridines Solvents Species Specificity Staining and Labeling Xylenes
Chemicals
Acids Enzymes Ethyl Ethers Lipids Pyridines Solvents Xylenes Periodic Acid Ethanol Chloroform Catechol Oxidase
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Fisher C A
Barksdale L
References (46)
46 references, click to expand
  1. [Study of staining of acid-alcohol-resistant bacteria with Sudan black].
    Ann Inst Pasteur (Paris). 1955 Sep;89(3):280-9 PMID: 13403386
  2. The histochemical identification of myelin phosphoglycerides by their ferric hydroxamates.
    J Neurochem. 1959 Feb;3(4):347-51 PMID: 13642069
  3. The appearance of dead leprosy bacilli by light and electron microscopy.
    Int J Lepr. 1962 Jan-Mar;30:1-9 PMID: 14490996
  4. Experimental transmission of human leprosy infection to a selected, laboratory-bred hybrid black mouse.
    Int J Lepr. 1958 Jul-Sep;26(3):195-204 PMID: 13640757
  5. Use of 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine Oxidation in the Identification of Mycobacterium leprae.
    J Bacteriol. 1966 Oct;92(4):1267-8 PMID: 16562150
  6. Electron microscopic study of cell division in M. leprae and M. lepraemurium.
    Sci Rep Res Inst Tohoku Univ Med. 1967 Nov;14(3):122-9 PMID: 4893485
  7. Studies on a Mycobacterium obtained from the golden hamster (Cricetus auratus) after inoculation with lepromatous tissue.
    Lab Invest. 1962 Nov;11:942-55 PMID: 13968341
  8. ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUDY OF MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAE AND ITS ENVIRONMENT IN A VESICULAR LEPROUS LESION.
    J Bacteriol. 1962 Jan;83(1):43-52 PMID: 16561926
  9. Ultrastructural changes in bacteria isolated from cases of leprosy.
    J Bacteriol. 1969 Nov;100(2):1062-75 PMID: 5359609
  10. Nerve involvement. Comparison of experimental infections by Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepraemurium.
    Int J Lepr. 1965 Jul-Sep;33(3):Suppl:617-33 PMID: 5854573
  11. Paired fibrous structure in mycobacteria.
    Biochim Biophys Acta. 1958 Oct;30(1):197-8 PMID: 13584421
  12. Identification of the noncultivable pathogenic mycobacteria M. leprae and M. lepraemurium.
    Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1968 Apr-Jun;36(2):166-70 PMID: 4877114
  13. The role of lipids in acid-fastness of mycobacteria.
    Am Rev Respir Dis. 1969 May;99(5):794-8 PMID: 4181648
  14. Application of quantitative electron microscopy to the study of Mycobacterium lepraemurium and M. leprae.
    J Gen Microbiol. 1960 Apr;22:443-57 PMID: 14436905
  15. Isolation of a strain of Mycobacterium lepraemurium from normal laboratory mice.
    Ann Soc Belges Med Trop Parasitol Mycol. 1969;49(5):465-8 PMID: 4935531
  16. Specificity of the Dharmendra antigen as tested in guinea-pigs.
    Int J Lepr. 1962 Apr-Jun;30:175-90 PMID: 13993555
  17. Histochemistry of myelin I. Proteins and lipid-protein complexes in the normal sheath.
    J Neurochem. 1961 Mar;6:327-33 PMID: 13778634
  18. Studies on the cell-wall composition and taxonomy of Actinomycetales and related groups.
    J Gen Microbiol. 1958 Feb;18(1):173-89 PMID: 13525638
  19. Further studies on the paired fibrous structure of mycobacterial cell wall.
    J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 Feb;9:496-501 PMID: 13774984
  20. Phenoloxidase activity in organisms isolated from lepromatous and tuberculoid leprosy.
    J Bacteriol. 1970 Dec;104(3):1406-8 PMID: 16559125
  21. Influence of oxidation and reduction on the acid-fastness of mycobacteria.
    Infect Immun. 1971 Oct;4(4):513-5 PMID: 4118118
  22. The in vitro preparation and histochemical properties of substances resembling ceroid.
    J Exp Med. 1951 Dec 1;94(6):549-62 PMID: 14897999
  23. Phage-host relationships in nontoxigenic and toxigenic diphtheria bacilli.
    J Bacteriol. 1954 Feb;67(2):220-32 PMID: 13129217
  24. Stain techniques and the morphology of Mycobacterium leprae.
    Lepr Rev. 1971 Jun;42(2):88-95 PMID: 4113656
  25. Significance of capsular components of Mycobacterium leprae and other mycobacteria.
    Int J Lepr. 1961 Jan-Mar;29:74-83 PMID: 13711245
  26. Relationship Between the Staining Quality of Mycobacterium leprae and Infectivity for Mice.
    Infect Immun. 1971 Jan;3(1):116-20 PMID: 16557926
  27. Mycobacterial cell walls. II. Chemical composition of the "basal layer".
    J Bacteriol. 1963 Jan;85:24-30 PMID: 13984704
  28. Crystalline inclusions of bacterium 22M.
    J Bacteriol. 1969 Jun;98(3):1390-4 PMID: 4892380
  29. [Electron microscopic structure of Mycobacterium leprae].
    Arch Klin Exp Dermatol. 1966 Apr 22;224(4):373-84 PMID: 4862047
  30. MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAE IN MICE: MINIMAL INFECTIOUS DOSE, RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STAINING QUALITY AND INFECTIVITY, AND EFFECT OF CORTISONE.
    J Bacteriol. 1965 Feb;89:365-72 PMID: 14255702
  31. Ultrastructural characteristics of mycobacterial growth.
    J Med Microbiol. 1969 Aug;2(3):181-6 PMID: 4995573
  32. Disparity in Appearance of True Hansen's Bacilli and Cultured "Leprosy Bacilli" When Stained for Fat.
    J Bacteriol. 1946 Dec;52(6):679-80 PMID: 16561233
  33. Elimination of the acid fastness but not the gram positivity of leprosy bacilli after extraction with pyridine.
    J Bacteriol. 1971 May;106(2):707-8 PMID: 4102336
  34. Staining conditions influencing morphological index of acid-fast bacilli.
    Kurume Med J. 1968;15(1):39-41 PMID: 4178297
  35. Electron microscopy. Approach to leprosy research.
    Int J Lepr. 1965 Jul-Sep;33(3):Suppl:669-88 PMID: 5322710
  36. Electron-microscope illustrations of division in Mycobacterium leprae.
    J Med Microbiol. 1970 Aug;3(3):493-9 PMID: 4919581
  37. Surface peptido-glycolipid filaments on Mycobacterium leprae.
    Clin Exp Immunol. 1971 Oct;9(4):539-47 PMID: 4941663
  38. THE REACTION OF BAKER'S CHROMATE REAGENT WITH LIPIDS.
    J Histochem Cytochem. 1965 May-Jun;13:410-1 PMID: 14344261
  39. Amino acids of the cell wall of Nocardia rubra.
    J Bacteriol. 1971 Nov;108(2):941-3 PMID: 4108475
  40. A new staining technique for polar bodies.
    J Bacteriol. 1950 Mar;59(3):357-60 PMID: 15436404
  41. [Sudan black BN, staining of Mycobacterium tuberculosis & lepraemurium, failure to stain Mycobacterium leprae].
    Bull Acad Natl Med. 1953 May 26-Jun 2;137(19-20):295-8 PMID: 13066820
  42. Mycobacterial cell walls. I. Methods of preparation and treatment with various chemicals.
    J Bacteriol. 1963 Jan;85:16-23 PMID: 13984703
  43. The surface structure of M. leprae.
    Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1968 Jul-Sep;36(3):303-8 PMID: 4177793
  44. Proteolipides, a new type of tissue lipoproteins; their isolation from brain.
    J Biol Chem. 1951 Aug;191(2):807-17 PMID: 14861226
  45. Oxidation of phenolic compounds by Mycobacterium leprae and inhibition of phenolase by substrate analogues and copper chelators.
    J Bacteriol. 1968 Jun;95(6):2051-3 PMID: 4970222
  46. The staining and chromium binding of rat brain tissue and of lipids in model systems subjected to Baker's acid hematein technique.
    J Histochem Cytochem. 1971 Apr;19(4):244-51 PMID: 4101813
Article Info
Journal
Journal of bacteriology
Abbr.
J Bacteriol
ISSN
0021-9193
DOI
10.1128/jb.113.3.1389-1399.1973
Published
1973-03-00
Pages
1389-99
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
2985120R
PMCID
PMC251709
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/jb.113.3.1389-1399.1973 PMC Full Text View journal details
Analysis Services
Analysis Services

Contact

No. 2 Wenbo Road, Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong

Qilu Normal University · Genelibs Bioinformatics Lab

750 Shunhua Rd, Jinan

2F, Bldg F, University Science Park

Tel: 0531-88819269

WeChat Official Account

Follow our WeChat subscription account for real-time updates and the latest in medical and biological research.


Business Email

E-mail: [email protected]

Copyright © 2026.Genelibs Jinan Honghui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. 鲁ICP备20007159号-2