Fukunishi Y
Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1985 Mar;53(1):75-8.
Peripheral nerve lesions of nude mice inoculated with Mycobacterium leprae were examined from 1 year to 1 year and 8 months post-inoculation. Leprosy bacilli and intracytoplasmic foamy structures were found in the perineurial cells, endothelial cells of capillaries, Schwann cells, and axons of the myelinated nerve fibers inside the lepromas of foot pads. In the proximal portion of the sciatic nerve, bacilli were found chiefly in the macrophages of the endoneurial space. Bacilli were not found in the perineurial cells of the sciatic nerves. Marked fibrosis, hypertrophy or degeneration of Schwann cells, demyelination, axonal damage or irreversible destruction of nerve architecture were not observed clearly. Therefore, it is thought that nude mice inoculated with M. leprae are suitable models for the study of the early peripheral nerve lesions of lepromatous leprosy.
对接种麻风分枝杆菌的裸鼠外周神经病变，在接种后1年至1年零8个月进行了检查。在脚垫瘤体内的神经束膜细胞、毛细血管内皮细胞、施万细胞以及有髓神经纤维的轴突中发现了麻风杆菌和胞浆内泡沫状结构。在坐骨神经近端，杆菌主要存在于神经内膜间隙的巨噬细胞中。在坐骨神经的神经束膜细胞中未发现杆菌。未明显观察到施万细胞的明显纤维化、肥大或变性、脱髓鞘、轴突损伤或神经结构的不可逆破坏。因此，认为接种麻风分枝杆菌的裸鼠是研究瘤型麻风早期外周神经病变的合适模型。
