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Updated: Aug 30, 2026
Optimized Protocols for Mycobacterium leprae Strain Management: Frozen Stock Preservation and Maintenance in Athymic Nude Mice
Published on: March 23, 2014
Electron microscope appearance of lepromatous footpads of nude mice [corrected]
Charles K Job1, Grgory T McCormick, David M Scollard
1Pathology Research Department, National Hansen's Disease Programs, L.S.U.-S.V.M., Skip Bertman Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Abstract:
Footpad lesions of 3 nude mice infected by Mycobacterium leprae were studied at 9, 12, and 14 months after inoculation with light and electron microscope. The lesions were somewhat similar to those found in nodules in polar lepromatous leprosy. Striated muscles rather than nerves were the preferred site of the growth of M. leprae. Yet, M. leprae were identified in Schwann cells and endothelial cells, singly and in clumps. M. leprae filled macrophages, and free M. leprae were found in large numbers in the endoneurium without producing any significant demyelination.
