Tani-Ishii N, Osada T, Watanabe Y, Umemoto T
Department of Endodontics, Kanagawa Dental College, Japan.
J Endod. 1996 Mar;22(3):120-2. doi: 10.1016/S0099-2399(96)80287-1.
Histological analysis of human leprosy periapical granulomas was conducted to study the histological responses to Mycobacterium leprae. Many Langhans-type giant cells and epithelioid cell tubercles were observed, although M. leprae were not detected in leprosy periapical granulomas. Although numerous T- and B-cells were infiltrated in leprosy periapical granuloma, the T-/B-cell ratio of leprosy is not changed to that of periapical granulomas isolated from normal patients. These findings suggested that human leprosy periapical granulomas develop as a result of immunological responses to M. leprae.
