such 1 or 2 week old cultures were inoculated with m. leprae , and bacilli were found in the cytoplasm of schwann cells and fibroblasts , demonstrating that these cells are phagocytic in nature and that it is possible to infect them with m. leprae , schwann cells , mostly in the free or early association phase , engulfed the bacilli , and this affected their further interaction with the axons and subsequent myelin synthesis .
C0016030
fibroblasts
C0007634
cells