Prabhakaran K
Indian J Lepr. 1986 Jul-Sep;58(3):461-74.
Very little information is available on the basic biology of Mycobacterium leprae. It is not known why the organism fails to grow in bacteriological media or in cell cultures and why it has an unusual predilection for certain tissues in the human host where cells derived from the neural crest occur (e.g. skin, peripheral nerves adrenal medulla). Biochemical studies have revealed that M. Leprae contains an unusual form of the enzyme diphenoloxidase which has not been detected in other mycobacteria. The presence of a specific glutamic acid decarboxylase in the organism has been demonstrated. Although a few enzymes of glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid cycle have been investigated, nothing characteristic of the bacterium has been discovered, and how M. leprae derives energy for its survival and proliferation still remains obscure.
关于麻风分枝杆菌的基础生物学，我们所知甚少。尚不清楚该生物体为何无法在细菌学培养基或细胞培养物中生长，以及为何它对人类宿主中某些存在源自神经嵴的细胞的组织（如皮肤、外周神经、肾上腺髓质）有特殊偏好。生化研究表明，麻风分枝杆菌含有一种其他分枝杆菌中未检测到的异常形式的二酚氧化酶。已证实该生物体中存在一种特异性谷氨酸脱羧酶。尽管已经对糖酵解和三羧酸循环的一些酶进行了研究，但尚未发现该细菌的任何独特之处，麻风分枝杆菌如何获取能量以维持生存和增殖仍然不清楚。
