Intracellular multiplication of leprosy-derived mycobacteria in Schwann cells of dorsal root ganglion cultures.

Organized nerve cultures of dorsal root ganglia from neonatal mice were infected with Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy. A significant multiplication of the acid-fast bacilli was observed within the Schwann cell component of the culture. The growth of these bacilli was sensitive to antileprosy drugs and was not observed directly in bacteriological media. These organisms were brightly stained with the monoclonal antibody to phenolic glycolipid-I, a M. leprae-specific marker. The antigenic, pathogenic, and biochemical characteristics of this mycobacterium are under investigation.