Respiratory burst metabolic status of macrophages in experimental leprosy.

Peritoneal macrophages from uninfected controls and Mycobacterium leprae infected Swiss albino mice were studied for their respiratory burst (RB) activity at different time intervals. The RB metabolic activity of macrophages declined significantly after 3 month infection using latex (p less than 0.001) and M. leprae (p less than 0.01) as stimuli. However, significant rise (p less than 0.001) in the oxidative metabolic activity was seen at 6 and 9 months postinfection period on stimulation with both the stimuli. The sharp rise in the oxidative metabolic status at peak period of infection in the experimental animals suggests that the macrophages are functionally normal though M. leprae is unable to trigger the respiratory burst sufficiently.