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N E Morrison

Publications and source records attributed to N E Morrison.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Microscopic counts carried out on Mycobacterium leprae and M. tuberculosis suspensions. A comparison of three staining procedures.

Standard smears of heat-killed Mycobacterium leprae and M. tuberculosis H37Rv were counted microscopically following staining by the Ziehl-Neelsen, auramine, and silver-methenamine methods. The numbers of stained bacillary bodies were consistently higher in the silver-methenamine stained smears compared to the Ziehl-Neelsen and auramine stained smears. The auramine smears were examined under ultraviolet illumination and permitted the enumeration of the brightly fluorescent bacilli against a black background. The auramine counts were not as high as those obtained using the silver-methenamine stained preparations but were consistently higher than those obtained with the Ziehl-Neelsen preparations. Both the auramine and silver-methenamine stained preparations clearly outlined the cell walls of the bacilli in the smears and this greatly facilitated the counting process, especially if the cell suspension was badly clumped.

Mycobacterium leprae↗
PubMed1979

Restoration of T-cell responsiveness by thymosin: expression of anti-tuberculous immunity in mouse lungs.

Specific pathogen-free, adult thymectomized, irradiated, and bone marrow-reconstituted (THXB) B6D2 mice were infected aerogenically with 1 X 10(3) to 5 X 10(3) live BCG Pasteur. Seven days later a group of the mice was placed on a 14-day regimen of 20 mg of calf thymosin per kg per day, and the growth of the BCG in the lungs, spleen, inguinal lymph node, bone marrow, and blood was determined for up to 90 days. The thymosin treatment was followed by a decline in the BCG counts for the lungs and spleens of the THXB mice, whereas the saline-treated controls showed no such decline with time. The thymosin-treated mice did not develop progressive BCG infections in the test lymph nodes or in the bone marrow, both of which became positive in the THXB mice. Spleen cells were harvested from thymosin-treated THXB donors, filtered through nylon wool, and infused three times into BCG-infected THXB recipients. The lung BCG counts declined approximately 10-fold by day 90 compared with THXB mice which received THXB spleen cells. The transferred immune response was only slightly smaller numerically than that seen in THXB mice infused with BCG-immune lymphocytes from normal donors.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Delayed hypersensitivity responses in mice and guinea pigs to Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium vaccae, and Mycobacterium nonchromogenicum cytoplasmic proteins.

Antigenic relationships between Mycobacterium vaccae, M. nonchromogenicum, and M. leprae were examined in mice and guinea pigs injected with M. vaccae or M. nonchromogenicum suspensions. The growth of both organisms in outbred ICR and four inbred mouse strains was followed up to 30 days. M. nonchromogenicum persisted in the livers and spleens of the inbred mice substantially better than did the M. vaccae population in the same mouse strains. A translucent colony variant of M. vaccae isolated from the opossum survived in vivo better than the opaque colony isolated from opossums and cattle. Persistence of M. vaccae and M. nonchromogenicum was not markedly increased in T-cell-depleted (nude) mice. Normal mice infected with increasing numbers of M. vaccae did not develop delayed-type hypersensitivity to the homologous M. vaccae cytoplasmic protein antigen. When heat-killed M. vaccae were incorporated into Freund adjuvant, both mice and guinea pigs developed delayed hypersensitivity to cytoplasmic antigens prepared from M. vaccae, M. nonchromogenicum and M. vaccae vaccines cross-sensitized guinea pigs to the M. leprae cytoplasmic antigens.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Immune response to persistent mycobacterial infection in mice.

Mycobacterium marinum has been recommended as a possible model of M. leprae for use in laboratory studies of antileprosy immunity. M. marinum introduced into the footpads of normal mice underwent a steady decline in viability, with less than 1% survival after a 30-day period. Small numbers of viable bacilli were recovered from the footpads of these mice up to 12 months later. Similarly, mice infected with M. simiae exhibited bacterial populations that persisted for up to 18 months with little change in viability. Injection of M. simiae into the footpads was followed by an extensive redistribution of the organisms in the tissues. Eventally, bacterial counts for footpads and draining lymph nodes stabilized, with small numbers of bacilli still present in the footpads 18 months later. Persistent growth, with little sign of any immune response, was also observed in mice infected with several strains of M. avium, as well as with one strain of M. intracellulare. Other strains of M. intracellulare, as well as M. vaccae and M. nonchromogenicum, failed to establish persistent infections in normal mice, regardless of whether they were introduced by an intravenous or subcutaneous (footpad) route. The relevance of these findings is discussed in relation to antileprosy immunity in experimental animals and in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Restoration of T-cell responsiveness by thymosin: development of antituberculous resistance in BCG-infected animals.

T-cell-depleted (adult thymectomized, lethally irradiated, bone marrow-reconstituted [THXB]), sham-thymectomized (XB) and normal control mice were injected daily with 3 mg of calf thymosin for 16 days. On day 8 of the treatment, the mice, together with untreated controls, were infected intravenously with 4 X 10(6) viable Mycobacterium bovis (BCG Montreal). Growth of the BCG in the lungs and spleens was compared quantitatively for up to 100 days. Thymosin treatment reversed the progressive weight loss seen in BCG-infected THXB mice and prevented their death due to the ongoing mycobacteriosis that developed in the T-cell-depleted animal. There was a late-developing anti-mycobacterial response in the thymosin-treated THXB mice, which resulted in a progressive decline in viability for the lung and spleen populations over the 40- to 80-day period, when the corresponding counts for the untreated THXB mice remained relatively constant. The histopathology of the lung and the increased antibacterial activity seen in the thymosin-treated THXB mice correlated with decreased [3H]deoxyribonucleic acid levels seen in the lungs and spleen compared with that present in the T-cell-depleted controls.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Restoration of delayed hypersensitivity to sheep erythrocytes by thymosin treatment of T-cell-depleted mice.

Calf thymosin was injected subcutaneously in daily doses of 0.1 to 3 mg for 12 to 15 days into adult thymectomized, irradiated, bone marrow-reconstituted (THXB) mice. Thymosin partially restored the ability of the T-cell-depleted host to develop delayed-type hypersensitivity to sheep erythrocytes. The degree of restoration varied from 50 to 75% of control values. Thymosin treatment of normal mice potentiated the footpad responsiveness to sheep erythrocytes by as much as 50% over that of untreated controls. The optimum dosage of thymosin seemed to be in the 200- to 500-mug range, and multiple injections were essential for a significant response. Tweleve daily injections of 100 to 500 mug of thymosin restored T-cell reactivity to the THXB mouse, but the responsiveness decayed relatively rapidly once the treatment was stopped. The restoration of immune responsiveness to sheep erythrocytes in T-cell-depleted mice provides a convenient means of demonstrating activity in thymosin preparations in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Growth of mycobacterium bovis (BCG) in T lymphocyte-depleted mice.

BCG Montreal (10-6 viable bacilli) injected intravenously into adult thymectomized, irradiated, and bone marrow-reconstituted (THXB) C57Bl times C3H F1 hybrid mice induced a progressive systemic infection which killed 95% of the animals within 60 days. Control mice infected with this dose of BCG did not die. The infected THXB mice failed to develop detectable levels of tuberculin hypersensitivity although they did show considerable Arthus (3 h) reactivity. The BCG-infected THXB mice lost weight progressively, and the root spleen and root lung indices increased substantially as the infection proceeded. None of the THXB mice developed an antibacterial immune response to the systemic BCG infection, and this was reflected by the continued persistence of macroscopic lung granuloma in these animals. The BCG-infected control mice developed as many surface tubercles as did the THXB animals, but the granulomas rapidly regressed in size and numbers in the normal mice. The lung changes correlated with the amount of tritiated thymidine incorporated by the lung cells in the later stages of the BCG infection. T cell depletion depressed the early splenic peak normally seen in BCG-infected controls, but, on the other hand, there was a progressive increase in lung counts in the THXB mice as the infection progressed and this late peak was not seen in the control animals. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the development of antituberculous immunity by BCG-infected mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Growth and immunogenicity of photochromogenic strains of mycobacteria in the footpads of normal mice.

Specific pathogen-free CD-1 mice were infected subcutaneously in the footpad with mycobacterium kansasii, three strains of M. marinum, and two strains of M. simiae-habana, and the growth of the organisms in the footpad, the draining popliteal lymph node, and the lung and spleen was followed quantitatively for up to 60 days. The ability of a footpad inoculum of M. marinum to spread to the lungs and spleen correlated with the ability of the organism to survive and multiple at 37 C in vitro cultures. The amount of footpad swelling which developed in the M. kansasii- and M. marinum-infected mice varied depending upon the strain of organism and the size of the original footpad inoculum. Injection of dead M. marinum into the footpad also induced an extensive amount of swelling which varied with the strain used, as well as being dose dependent. M. marinum- and BCG-vaccinated mice were protected against a later footpad challenge with M. marinum or the highly mouse virulent M. tuberculosis strain ERDMAN. The significance of this finding is discussed in relation to cross-protection studies using a variety of mycobacteria in the footpad infection model.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Growth of Mycobacterium marinum in the footpads of T-cell-depleted mice.

Mycobacterium marinum strains 1218 and 1219 were inoculated into the hind footpads of T-cell-depleted specific pathogen-free C57B1/6 mice, and the growth and survival of the organisms at the site of injection, the draining popliteal lymph node, and the spleen and lung were quantitated for up to 70 days. T-cell depletion largely ablated the normal cell-mediated antituberculous response to the M. marinum population. The mice were able to control the further growth of the inoculum within the footpad only after it had reached 5 to 10 times that present in the normal controls. The high temperature-adapted strain (37 C; strain no. 1218) induced an increasing infection in the liver, spleen, and lungs of the THXB mice, and the infection eventually spread to the opposite footpad and to the tail skin. Strain 1219 gave rise to considerable systemic involvement in the THXB host despite its inability to survive at 37 C, but the size of the splenic and lung populations was considerably lower than in the 1218-infected animals. Both M. marinum infections persisted in the tissues of the T-cell-depleted mice with no indication of a cell-mediated immune response. Footpad swelling in the M. marinum-infected mice was not greatly reduced by T-cell depletion, and, if anything, tended to persist at high levels long after the swelling of the control feet had gone into a decline. On the other hand, incorporation of tritiated thymidine by cells within the infected footpads, the draining lymph node, and the spleen was considerably reduced in the T-cell-depleted host compared with control values. Late in the infection, there was a significant increase in the amount of label taken up by the cells in the footpads of the T-cell-depleted host.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Immunogenicity of an aerogenic BCG vaccine in T-cell-depleted and normal mice.

Aerogenic infection of adult thymectomized, lethally irradiated, bone marrow-reconstituted (THXB) C57B1 times C3H F1 hybrid mice with 1 to 3,000 viable BCG Montreal was followed by an extended period of logarithmic growth to a maximum population of 5 times 10-6 bacilli by day 35. The infection spread to the liver, spleen, and bone marrow with extensive multiplication in all test organs before the growth curves abruptly entered a stationary phase. Up to 30% of the THXB mice eventually died as a result of the ongoing BCG infection. There was no sign of an antimicrobial immune response in the THXB mice analogous to that seen in the control animals beginning about day 30. The THXB mice developed considerable immediate but no delayed hypersensitivity to PPD. Intravenous challenge of the BCG-vaccinated THXB mice with 105 virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis Erdman indicated that they were as susceptible to the tuberculous challenge as a group of unvaccinated controls. Visible surface lesions developed on the lung 90 days postinfection in the T-cell-depleted host with a sharp rise in counts to 175 per lobe on day 120 followed by a plateau for the remainder of the study. Control mice developed visible lesions about day 50, with 225 lesions per lobe by day 70 and a sharp decline to undetectable levels by day 90. The histopathology of these changes was examined carefully, together with the rate of cellular proliferation (tritiated thymidine uptake) by lung and spleen cells as the BCG infection progressed in the THXB mice. Peak uptake by both organs was depressed during the early stages of the BCG infection in the T-cell-depleted mice, but later the incorporation rates were significantly elevated above control values as the infection progressed.

Animals↗