Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| unique structural features of the peptidoglycan of mycobacterium leprae. | the peptidoglycan structure of mycobacterium spp. has been investigated primarily with the readily cultivable mycobacterium smegmatis and mycobacterium tuberculosis and has been shown to contain unusual features, including the occurrence of n-glycolylated, in addition to n-acetylated, muramic acid residues and direct cross-linkage between meso-diaminopimelic acid residues. based on results from earlier studies, peptidoglycan from in vivo-derived noncultivable mycobacterium leprae was assumed to ... | 2008 | 18024514 |
| comparison of the mouse foot pad test with a buddemeyer type radiorespirometric assay in detecting viable mycobacterium leprae in human lesional biopsies. | this study assesses the utility of a buddemeyer type radiorespirometric (rr) assay in detecting viable mycobacterium leprae in clinical samples taking the mouse foot pad (mfp) test as gold standard. | 2007 | 18032855 |
| circulating cytokine profiles in leprosy patients. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae which is an obligate intracellular pathogen. it is characterised by a broad spectrum of clinical forms dictated by the patient's immune response to the organism. the tuberculoid pole has good cell mediated immunity to m. leprae, with few lesions and bacilli while the lepromatous pole has poor immunity coupled with extensive involvement and greater bacillary load. | 2007 | 18035773 |
| diffuse leprosy of lucio and latapí: a histologic study. | ladislao de la pascua described the spotted or lazarine leprosy for first time in 1844. later on, lucio and alvarado studied and published it with the same names in 1852. latapí re-discovered it in 1938 and reported it as 'spotted' leprosy of lucio in 1948. frenken named it diffuse leprosy of lucio and latapí in 1963. latapí and chévez-zamora explained that the fundamental condition of this variety of leprosy was a diffuse generalised cutaneous infiltration, naming it pure and primitive diffuse ... | 2007 | 18035776 |
| genetic vaccine for tuberculosis (pvaxhsp65) primes neonate mice for a strong immune response at the adult stage. | vaccination of neonates is generally difficult due to the immaturity of the immune system and consequent higher susceptibility to tolerance induction. genetic immunization has been described as an alternative to trigger a stronger immune response in neonates, including significant th1 polarization. in this investigation we analysed the potential use of a genetic vaccine containing the heat shock protein (hsp65) from mycobacterium leprae (pvaxhsp65) against tuberculosis (tb) in neonate mice. aspe ... | 2007 | 18047644 |
| lilra2 activation inhibits dendritic cell differentiation and antigen presentation to t cells. | the differentiation of monocytes into dendritic cells (dc) is a key mechanism by which the innate immune system instructs the adaptive t cell response. in this study, we investigated whether leukocyte ig-like receptor a2 (lilra2) regulates dc differentiation by using leprosy as a model. lilra2 protein expression was increased in the lesions of the progressive, lepromatous form vs the self-limited, tuberculoid form of leprosy. double immunolabeling revealed lilra2 expression on cd14+, cd68+ monoc ... | 2007 | 18056355 |
| performance of a lateral flow test for the detection of leprosy patients in india. | 2008 | 18065681 | |
| [study on genotyping of mycobacterium leprae and families with multi-cases]. | multiple locus variable number-tandem repeat (vntr) analysis (mlva) had been proposed as a means of strain typing for tracking of source and studying the transmission chain of pathogens. however, empirical data for a defined population from scale and duration were lacking for studying the transmission chain of leprosy. | 2007 | 18069551 |
| are all the dna gyrase mutations found in mycobacterium leprae clinical strains involved in resistance to fluoroquinolones? | mycobacterium leprae dna gyrases carrying various mutations, previously described in clinical strains, were investigated for quinolone susceptibility by inhibition of supercoiling and dna cleavage promotion. we demonstrated that the gyra mutations leading to g89c or a91v confer fluoroquinolone resistance whereas the gyrb mutation leading to d205n does not. | 2008 | 18070975 |
| utility of measuring serum levels of anti-pgl-i antibody, neopterin and c-reactive protein in monitoring leprosy patients during multi-drug treatment and reactions. | to verify the validity of measuring the levels of mycobacterium leprae-specific anti-phenolic glycolipid (pgl)-i antibody, neopterin, a product of activated macrophages, and c-reactive protein (crp), an acute phase protein, in serial serum samples from patients for monitoring the leprosy spectrum and reactions during the course of multi-drug treatment (mdt). | 2007 | 18076551 |
| quantiferon tb gold: a new method for latent tuberculosis infection. | quantiferon-tb gold obtained approval in 2003 by the food and drug administration as a valid tool for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis. in this report, we evaluated its potential use in the immunological diagnosis of mycobacterium tuberculosis infections in different groups of subjects. our data indicate that quantiferon-tb gold is specific for identifying subjects who have come into contact with m. tuberculosis and its use alongside traditional diagnostic techniques may be an important inst ... | 2007 | 18080685 |
| a quantitative and morphometric study of tryptase-positive mast cells in cutaneous leprosy lesions. | while mast cells are known to induce differences in the matrix structures, microvascular patterns, and immune responses in a number of diseases, the possible role of mast cells in these same processes over the spectrum of leprosy has not yet been investigated. thus, ascertaining the possible influence of mast cells in the outcome of the anti-leprosy response to mycobacterium leprae is of major importance. in this study, 51 cutaneous biopsies of leprosy patients were stained with anti-tryptase an ... | 2008 | 18082641 |
| recent advances in immunodiagnosis of leprosy. | although prevalence of leprosy is considerably reduced, the unabated emergence of about 300,000 cases worldwide indicates that the source of infection and transmission are not being addressed. early diagnosis and treatment still remain the cornerstone of leprosy control. many diagnostic issues hinder the correct and timely diagnosis and classification of leprosy. delayed and missed diagnosis of infectious leprosy patients and the lack of tests to measure asymptomatic m. leprae infection in conta ... | 2007 | 18085168 |
| recent advances in molecular biology of leprosy. | the last three decades have witnessed rapid progress in understanding the molecular biology of mycobacterium leprae. following the availability of complete genome sequence of leprosy bacillus in 2001, things have drastically changed. with the information about genetic structure, several techniques have been developed for diagnosis, molecular epidemiology and also detection of drug resistance. with the decline in the prevalence of leprosy globally, there has been some reduction in interest in the ... | 2007 | 18085172 |
| comparison of radiorespirometric budemeyer assay with atp assay and mouse foot pad test in detecting viable mycobacterium leprae from clinical samples. | this study compares the results of radiorespirometric buddemeyer assay with adenosine triphosphate (atp) assay and mouse foot pad (mfp) test to validate the sensitivity of buddemeyer assay in detecting viable m. leprae in clinical samples. | 2007 | 18087085 |
| in vitro cultivation of the rat leprosy organism. | 1948 | 18101748 | |
| a comparative study by electron microscopy of the morphology of mycobacterium leprae and cultivable species of mycobacteria. | 1948 | 18106221 | |
| ligand-binding prediction for erbb2, a key molecule in the pathogenesis of leprosy. | mycobacterium leprae is an obligate intracellular pathogen. ligand-binding is an important factor in the success of chemoprevention and chemotherapy. a new drug that can inhibit m. leprae binding to and activation of, erbb2 and erk1/2 in primary schwann cells is the new therapeutic option. however, the ligand-binding pattern of erbb2 has never been clarified. | 2008 | 18187820 |
| rational combination of peptides derived from different mycobacterium leprae proteins improves sensitivity for immunodiagnosis of m. leprae infection. | the stable incidence of new leprosy cases suggests that transmission of infection is continuing despite the worldwide implementation of multidrug therapy programs. highly specific tools are required to accurately diagnose asymptomatic and early stage mycobacterium leprae infections which are the likely sources of transmission and cannot be identified by using the detection of antibodies against phenolic glycolipid i. one of the hurdles hampering t-cell-based diagnostic tests is that m. leprae an ... | 2008 | 18199740 |
| development and evaluation of a novel multiple-primer pcr amplification refractory mutation system for the rapid detection of mutations conferring rifampicin resistance in codon 425 of the rpob gene of mycobacterium leprae. | rifampicin-resistant mycobacterium leprae is regularly reported and drug resistance is a major threat for the elimination of leprosy. there is an urgent need for a simple method that can detect rifampicin resistance in clinical isolates. this study developed a multiple-primer pcr amplification refractory mutation system, a simple, reliable and economical method for clinical specimens that allowed the rapid detection of mutations in the nucleotides of the codon for ser425 of the m. leprae rpob ge ... | 2008 | 18201983 |
| a dna vaccine against tuberculosis based on the 65 kda heat-shock protein differentially activates human macrophages and dendritic cells. | a number of reports have demonstrated that rodents immunized with dna vaccines can produce antibodies and cellular immune responses presenting a long-lasting protective immunity. these findings have attracted considerable interest in the field of dna vaccination. we have previously described the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of a dna vaccine encoding the mycobacterium leprae 65 kda heat shock protein (dna-hsp65) in a murine model of tuberculosis. as dna vaccines are often less effective i ... | 2008 | 18208592 |
| study of antileprosy activities of some dialkyldithiocarbamate derivatives. | effects of some dialkyldithiocarbamate derivatives on multiplication of m. leprae were studied in infected mice. compounds significantly suppressing m. leprae proliferation were selected. by antibacterial activity one of these compounds was superior to dapsone, the main antileprosy drug. | 2007 | 18225763 |
| scavenging of reactive nitrogen species by mycobacterial truncated hemoglobins. | tuberculosis and leprosy are among the most challenging infectious threats to human health. the ability of mycobacteria to persist in vivo in the presence of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species implies the presence in these bacteria of effective detoxification (pseudoenzymatic) systems. mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae truncated hemoglobins (trhbs) belonging to group i (or n; trhbn) and group ii (or o; trhbo) have recently been implicated in the scavenging of nitrogen monoxid ... | 2008 | 18237641 |
| leprosy as a genetic model for susceptibility to common infectious diseases. | leprosy (hansen's disease) is a human infectious disease that can be effectively treated with long-term administration of multi-drug therapy. in 2006, over 250,000 new cases were reported to the world health organization. in the nineteenth century, disagreement among leprologists regarding the hereditary or infectious nature of leprosy was resolved with the identification of the etiological agent, mycobacterium leprae. however, epidemiological studies maintain the importance of host genetics in ... | 2008 | 18247059 |
| in vitro polymerization of mycobacterium leprae ftsz or mycobacterium tuberculosis ftsz is revived or abolished, respectively, by reciprocal mutation of a single residue. | a single residue that dramatically influences polymerization of principal cell division protein ftsz of mycobacterium leprae (mlftsz) and mycobacterium tuberculosis (mtftsz) has been identified. soluble, recombinant mlftsz did not show polymerization in vitro, in contrast to mtftsz, which polymerised. mutation of the lone non-conserved residue t172 in the n-terminal domain of mlftsz to a172, as it exists in mtftsz, showed dramatic polymerization of mlftsz-t172a in vitro. reciprocal mutation of a ... | 2008 | 18249190 |
| clinical, immunological and histological aspects of an uncommon type ii reaction in patients with lepromatous leprosy. | this study reports three cases of an unusual leprotic reaction characterized by superficial bullous ulcerative cutaneous lesions associated with high fever, malaise and oedema in patients with leprosy. two patients responded to thalidomide treatment, with regression of the symptoms and skin ulcers. the third patient responded to thalidomide plus prednisone. analysis of the ulcerated skin lesions showed dermal oedema with mononuclear cell infiltrate enriched for gammadelta-positive t lymphocytes ... | 2008 | 18261142 |
| treatment gets better, but leprosy remains a global problem. | 2008 | 18265889 | |
| molecular origin of endemic leprosy in new york city. | we report an indigenous case of leprosy in new york city in an immunocompetent patient who was infected with a mycobacterium leprae genotype that is consistent with an exogenous origin. physicians in the eastern united states should be alerted that, although most patients who develop leprosy in the united states are foreign born, native-born americans are also susceptible to the infection. | 2008 | 18269333 |
| leprosy reversal reaction as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in patients with aids. | we report 2 instances in which reactional borderline leprosy manifested itself as an immune reconstitution phenomenon in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. we discuss the clinical, laboratory-based, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical characteristics of both patients. furthermore, we review similar reports from the literature. | 2008 | 18269334 |
| [hansen's disease: case report and review of literature]. | leprosy is a granulomatous disease affecting the skin and peripheral nerves caused by mycobacterium leprae. the range of clinical forms varying from tuberculoid to lepromatous leprosy results from variations in the cellular immune response to the mycobacterium. despite available combined drug-therapy, it continues to be a significant public health problem, carrying a strong stigma. although recently there has been no native cases in chile, a few imported cases have been diagnosed. we present a 5 ... | 2008 | 18273528 |
| association of leprosy with hla-drb1 in an argentinean population. | previous studies have suggested an influence of hla molecules on the regulation of the anti mycobacterium leprae immune response. | 2008 | 18275683 |
| comparison of ifn-gamma responses to mycobacterial antigens as markers of response to bcg vaccination. | an increase in interferon-gamma (ifn-gamma) production to mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative (mtb ppd), as measured in the cultured diluted whole blood assay, is one indicator of a protective immune response to bcg vaccine. we have explored the potential for this assay to be improved by measuring ifn-gamma responses to more defined antigens of m. tuberculosis (short-term and mid-term culture filtrates, esat-6, 38 kda), mycobacterium bovis (mpb70), m. bovis bcg (antigen 85) an ... | 2008 | 18277396 |
| immune cellular parameters of leprosy and human immunodeficiency virus-1 co-infected subjects. | leprosy and human immunodeficiency virus-1 (hiv-1) are examples of human infections where interactions between the pathogen and the host cellular immunity determine the clinical manifestations of disease. hence, a significant immunopathological interaction between hiv-1 and leprosy might be expected. in the present study we explored several aspects of cellular immunity in patients co-infected with hiv-1 and mycobacterium leprae. twenty-eight individuals were studied, comprising four groups: heal ... | 2008 | 18284466 |
| accuracy of an interferon-gamma release assay to detect active pulmonary and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. | to examine the performance of an interferon-gamma (ifn-gamma) release assay (quantiferon-tb 2g assay [qft-g]) to detect mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a japanese general hospital, for the diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis (ptb) and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (eptb). | 2008 | 18284831 |
| a drug-resistant leprosy case detected by dna sequence analysis from a relapsed mexican leprosy patient. | a skin biopsy sample was obtained from a relapsed lepromatous leprosy patient from the central area of mexico. genes associated with resistance to anti-leprosy drugs were analyzed by dna sequence assay. a single nucleotide substitution was found at codon 53 (acc-->gcc) in the folp gene, which is known to confer dapsone resistance. no mutations in the rpob and gyra, which indicate resistance to rifampicin and fluoroquinoles, were detected. this is the first reported case of dapsone resistant lepr ... | 2006 | 18293659 |
| visualization of pseudogenes in intracellular bacteria reveals the different tracks to gene destruction. | pseudogenes reveal ancestral gene functions. some obligate intracellular bacteria, such as mycobacterium leprae and rickettsia spp., carry substantial fractions of pseudogenes. until recently, horizontal gene transfers were considered to be rare events in obligate host-associated bacteria. | 2008 | 18302730 |
| alteration of the relative levels of inkt cell subsets is associated with chronic mycobacterial infections. | cd1d-restricted invariant natural killer t cells (inkt cells) have been identified as an important type of effector and regulatory t cell, but their roles in the chronic infectious diseases caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae remain poorly defined. here, we studied circulating human inkt cells in blood samples from tuberculosis (tb) and leprosy patients. we found that the percentages of inkt cells among total circulating t cells in tb and leprosy patients were not signi ... | 2008 | 18308638 |
| the impact of leprosy control on the transmission of m. leprae: is elimination being attained? | in 1991 the world health assembly decided to 'eliminate leprosy as a public health problem' by the year 2000. elimination was defined as reducing the global prevalence of the disease to less than 1 case per 10,000. in 2000 the world health organization (who) announced that elimination was reached globally. conventionally control of disease is defined as the reduction of disease burden to a locally acceptable level. elimination of disease is defined as the reduction to zero of the incidence in a ... | 2007 | 18309706 |
| the frequency of drug resistance mutations in mycobacterium leprae isolates in untreated and relapsed leprosy patients from myanmar, indonesia and the philippines. | the magnitude of drug resistance in mycobacterium leprae to dapsone, rifampicin, and ofloxacin was studied in three southeast asian countries with a high prevalence of leprosy. | 2007 | 18309708 |
| effect of cryo preservation on mycobacterium leprae growth in the footpads of non-immunosuppressed mice. | to investigate using the mouse footpad system, whether the use of cryopreservants help in retaining the viability of mycobacterium leprae samples stored at three different temperatures of 4 degrees, -20 degrees and -70 degrees c for 30 days. | 2007 | 18309712 |
| identification of a glucose permease from mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155. | we report here the molecular identification of a glucose permease from mycobacterium smegmatis,a model organism for our understanding of the life patterns of the major pathogens mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae. a computer-based search of the available genome of m. smegmatis mc(2) 155 with the sequences of well-characterized glucose transporters revealed the gene msmeg4187 as a possible candidate. the deduced protein belongs to the major facilitator superfamily of proton sympo ... | 2009 | 18311074 |
| towards understanding the pathology of erythema nodosum leprosum. | erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) is an immune-mediated complication of leprosy presenting with inflammatory skin nodules and involvement of multiple organ systems, often running a protracted course. immune complex production and deposition as well as complement activation have long been regarded as the principal aetiology of enl. however, new data show that cell-mediated immunity is also important. we have performed a critical analysis of studies on the pathology of enl. our main findings are as ... | 2008 | 18313706 |
| transmission of leprosy: a study of skin and nasal secretions of household contacts of leprosy patients using pcr. | it is generally held that dissemination of mycobacterium leprae is from nasal mucosa and not through the skin of infected patients. in this study, we evaluated m. leprae in the unbroken skin and nasal secretions of multibacillary (mb) leprosy patients and their contacts. specimens were examined by direct microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (pcr) for m. leprae dna. results showed that 60% of untreated mb leprosy patients examined histologically had acid-fast bacilli in the keratin layer. by ... | 2008 | 18337353 |
| socio-demographic profile of leprosy patients in two districts of western uttar pradesh. | despite achieving the goal of national elimination of leprosy, it remains a serious public health problem in the high prevalence states of uttar pradesh, bihar and orissa. a significant percentage of newly detected cases are multibacillary. it underscores the importance of developing a more effective strategy to combat the disease in high prevalence pockets of the country. a glance into sociodemographic profile of the leprosy patients of one the high prevalence states might help in understanding ... | 2007 | 18338716 |
| serological response to chemoprophylaxis in extended contacts in leprosy--a randomized controlled trial. | chemoprophylaxis was carried out on high risk group of extended contacts of new leprosy cases in nyaungdon township, ayeyarwaddy division, myanmar and serological response was followed up for two years. in september 2003, blood samples were collected from 829 contacts after getting informed consent and sera were tested for immunoglobulin m antibodies using ntp-bsa elisa test. these 300 seropositives were randomized to treated and non-treated groups. in each group 102 each were enrolled in adults ... | 2008 | 18341017 |
| midfacial leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic bacterial disease that has many clinical presentations. we are reporting a patient who presented with an erythematous plaque over the nose, which was proved to be due to leprosy. we think that this type of clinical feature is not a common presentation for leprosy. | 2008 | 18341018 |
| [molecular mechanisms for intracellular parasitisation and exclusion in macrophage infected with mycobacterium leprae]. | it was previously demonstrated that tlr2 and coro1a (taco, coronin 1, p57) localize phagosome membrane of macrophage. however, the functional relationship between tlr2 and coro1a was not known. we show here that there is a functional counteraction between tlr2 and coro1a. | 2008 | 18341026 |
| liposomal delivery of mycobacterium leprae antigen(s) with murabutide and trat peptide inhibits fas-mediated apoptosis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells derived from leprosy patients. | protective immunity against intracellular pathogen mycobacterium leprae is dependent on the activation of t cells. repeated stimulation of t cells by m. leprae antigens mlcwa (m. leprae total cell wall antigen) and manlam (mannose capped lipoarabinomannan) may lead to apoptosis in leprosy patients. in the present study, inhibition of the fas-induced apoptosis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells of leprosy patients was investigated using above m. leprae antigen(s), in combination with immunomod ... | 2007 | 18341215 |
| [worsening of leprosy lesions in a philippine-born patient]. | 2008 | 18341924 | |
| [study of rifampin and dapsone resistance in three patients with recurring leprosy]. | to detect the presence of rifampin- and dapsone-resistant strains of mycobacterium leprae in three patients with recurring leprosy and clinically-suspected antimicrobial resistance through molecular techniques. | 2008 | 18371276 |
| the functional state of the complement system in leprosy. | ninety-one patients with different clinical forms of leprosy, 36 lepromatous (ll), 33 tuberculoid (tl), and 22 dimorphic (dl), and 31 healthy volunteer donors were included in this study. total complement system (cs) activity was assessed by hemolytic methods, whereas individual components were quantified by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. under conditions allowing initiation of cascade by the classic pathway (cp) but not alternative pathway (ap) activation, significant cs consumption was ... | 2008 | 18385356 |
| [insatiable challenge for eradication of leprosy]. | 2008 | 18389941 | |
| deciphering the genetic bases of the structural diversity of phenolic glycolipids in strains of the mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. | phenolic glycolipids (pgl) play a major role in the virulence of mycobacteria, notably in strains of the mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and in mycobacterium leprae. the structure of the carbohydrate domain of these compounds is highly variable, and the genetic bases for these variations remain unknown. we demonstrated that the monoglycosylated pgl formed by mycobacterium bovis differs from the triglycosylated pgl synthesized by m. tuberculosis (pgl-tb) because of the following two genetic de ... | 2008 | 18390543 |
| cyclic amp in mycobacteria: characterization and functional role of the rv1647 ortholog in mycobacterium smegmatis. | mycobacterial genomes are endowed with many eukaryote-like nucleotide cyclase genes encoding proteins that can synthesize 3',5'-cyclic amp (camp). however, the roles of camp and the need for such redundancy in terms of adenylyl cyclase genes remain unknown. we measured camp levels in mycobacterium smegmatis during growth and under various stress conditions and report the first biochemical and functional characterization of the msmeg_3780 adenylyl cyclase, whose orthologs in mycobacterium tubercu ... | 2008 | 18390660 |
| use of short tandem repeat sequences to study mycobacterium leprae in leprosy patients in malawi and india. | inadequate understanding of the transmission of mycobacterium leprae makes it difficult to predict the impact of leprosy control interventions. genotypic tests that allow tracking of individual bacterial strains would strengthen epidemiological studies and contribute to our understanding of the disease. | 2008 | 18398487 |
| an elderly woman with a diffuse annular eruption. | 2008 | 18419493 | |
| erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase activities and blood glutathione content in leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by mycobacterium leprae involving cutaneous tissue and peripheral nerves producing skin lesions, nerve degeneration, anaesthesia and deformities. in leprosy, the activated phagocytes produce reactive oxygen species (ros) as a part of their microbicidal function. such ros are capable of damaging the host tissue by lipid peroxidation. increased lipid peroxidation has been reported in leprosy. the glutathione antioxidant system with glutathione pe ... | 2008 | 18440071 |
| the phenolic glycolipid of mycobacterium tuberculosis differentially modulates the early host cytokine response but does not in itself confer hypervirulence. | mycobacterium tuberculosis possesses a diversity of potential virulence factors including complex branched lipids such as the phenolic glycolipid pgl-tb. pgl-tb expression by the clinical m. tuberculosis isolate hn878 has been associated with a less efficient th1 response and increased virulence in mice and rabbits. it has been suggested that the w-beijing family is the only group of m. tuberculosis strains with an intact pks1-15 gene, required for the synthesis of pgl-tb and capable of producin ... | 2008 | 18443098 |
| hiv-m. leprae interaction: can haart modify the course of leprosy? | it has been speculated that, as seen in tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) and mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) co-infection may exacerbate the pathogenesis of leprosy lesions and/or lead to increased susceptibility to leprosy. however, to date, hiv infection has not appeared to increase susceptibility to leprosy. in contrast, initiation of antiretroviral treatment (art) has been reported to be associated with anecdotal activation of m. leprae infection and exacerbation of existing ... | 2008 | 18457073 |
| human tlr1 deficiency is associated with impaired mycobacterial signaling and protection from leprosy reversal reaction. | toll-like receptors (tlrs) are important regulators of the innate immune response to pathogens, including mycobacterium leprae, which is recognized by tlr1/2 heterodimers. we previously identified a transmembrane domain polymorphism, tlr1_t1805g, that encodes an isoleucine to serine substitution and is associated with impaired signaling. we hypothesized that this tlr1 snp regulates the innate immune response and susceptibility to leprosy. in hek293 cells transfected with the 1805t or 1805g varia ... | 2008 | 18461142 |
| leprosy: diagnostic and control challenges for a worldwide disease. | leprosy is a curable disease with well-defined etiology, but lacks better diagnostic tools, preventive and therapeutic strategies. the continued application of the ridley-jopling clinical classification that recognizes the natural diversity of the immune response has provided the basis for understanding leprosy, and this review proposes its implementation in all reference centers in order to standardize the diagnostic resources, aiming at the improvement of the disease control. due to the broad ... | 2008 | 18461340 |
| simple sequence repeats in different genome sequences of shigella and comparison with high gc and at-rich genomes. | simple sequence repeats (ssrs) are omnipresent in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and are found anywhere in the genome in both protein encoding and noncoding regions. in present study the whole genome sequences of seven chromosomes (shigella flexneri 2a str301 and 2457t, shigella sonnei, escherichia coli k12, mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium leprae and staphylococcus saprophyticus) have downloaded from the genbank database for identifying abundance, distribution and composition of ssrs and ... | 2008 | 18464038 |
| leprosy is (still) here, but recognition is often delayed. | 2008 | 18475232 | |
| armadillos as a source of infection for leprosy. | 2008 | 18475233 | |
| three indigenous cases of leprosy in the mississippi delta. | three native-born patients from the mississippi delta presented with leprosy over a 13-month period. none had a history of foreign travel, contact with each other, or known leprosy patients. two patients' lesions lacked anesthesia, and all had a history of armadillo exposure. these cases add to the association of armadillo exposure and the subsequent development of leprosy. | 2008 | 18475242 |
| the role of the armadillo and sooty mangabey monkey in human leprosy. | the armadillo was the first animal model of leprosy. its role in the transmission of leprosy remains controversial. the sooty mangabey model of leprosy led to the discovery that rhesus monkeys were more susceptible to leprosy when coinfected with simian immunodeficiency virus (siv), but that leprosy may play a protective role against acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (aids) mortality. recently, molecular methods have been developed for leprosy and may help resolve the role of zoonoses in lepros ... | 2008 | 18477141 |
| characterization of two heparan sulphate-binding sites in the mycobacterial adhesin hlp. | the histone-like hlp protein is emerging as a key component in mycobacterial pathogenesis, being involved in the initial events of host colonization by interacting with laminin and glycosaminoglycans (gags). in the present study, nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) was used to map the binding site(s) of hlp to heparan sulfate and identify the nature of the amino acid residues directly involved in this interaction. | 2008 | 18482453 |
| characterization of langerhans cells in epidermal sheets along the body of armadillo (dasypus novemcinctus). | armadillos are apparently important reservoirs of mycobacterium leprae and an animal model for human leprosy, whose immune system has been poorly studied. we aimed at characterizing the armadillo's langerhans cells (lc) using epidermal sheets instead of tissue sections, since the latter restrict analysis only to cut-traversed cells. epidermal sheets by providing an en face view, are particularly convenient to evaluate dendritic morphology (cells are complete), spatial distribution (regular vs. c ... | 2008 | 18482772 |
| the 3'utr 1188 a/c polymorphism in the interleukin-12p40 gene (il-12b) is associated with lepromatous leprosy in the west of mexico. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. il-12 participates in the immune response against m. leprae by regulating t cell differentiation into the th1-type response. several single nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified in the il-12 gene such as 3'utr 1188 a/c polymorphism, which is associated with different diseases. however, the relationship of this polymorphism with the immune response in leprosy has not been explored. in this case-control study, we evalu ... | 2008 | 18485489 |
| anti-pgl-tb1 responses as an indicator of the immune restoration syndrome in hiv-tb patients. | a prospective and multi-centre study has allowed us to analyse antibody responses and mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolate genotypes on 24 consecutive hiv-tb co-infected patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (haart) who either went on to develop a tb immune restoration syndrome (tb-irs), or not. circulating free and immune-complexed antibodies against manlam, esat-6/cfp10 and pgl-tb1 in hiv-tb co-infected patients were measured by elisa at the initiation of anti-tb tr ... | 2008 | 18495539 |
| are variable-number tandem repeats appropriate for genotyping mycobacterium leprae? | comparative genomics analysis of the tamil nadu strain of mycobacterium leprae has uncovered several polymorphic sites with potential as epidemiological tools. in this study we compared the stability of two different markers of genomic biodiversity of m. leprae in several biopsy samples isolated from the same leprosy patient. the first type comprises five different variable-number tandem repeats (vntr), while the second is composed of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (snp). contrasting resu ... | 2008 | 18495858 |
| integrin beta 4 in neural cells. | integrin beta 4, one of the heterodimeric receptors, is expressed predominantly on epithelial cells. it is concentrated at the basement membrane zone, where it localizes to specialized adhesion structures called hemidesmosomes. in addition to its adhesive functions, novel insights have emerged regarding the specific roles of integrin beta 4 in their attachment to extracellular matrix and in their signal transduction pathways within the central nervous system (cns) and peripheral nervous system i ... | 2008 | 18516507 |
| localized lepromatous leprosy in household contact of multibacillary disease. | lepromatous leprosy (ll) is a generalized disease, usually with numerous papules, nodules, or plaques containing abundant mycobacterium leprae and affecting wide areas of the skin. | 2008 | 18544298 |
| h2o2 and (.)no scavenging by mycobacterium leprae truncated hemoglobin o. | kinetics of ferric mycobacterium leprae truncated hemoglobin o (trhbofe(iii)) oxidation by h2o2 and of trhbofe(iv)o reduction by (.)no and no2- are reported. the value of the second-order rate constant for h2o2-mediated oxidation of trhbofe(iii) is 2.4 x 10(3) m(-1) s(-1). the value of the second-order rate constant for (.)no-mediated reduction of trhbofe(iv)o is 7.8 x 10(6) m(-1) s(-1). the value of the first-order rate constant for trhbofe(iii)ono decay to the resting form trhbofe(iii) is 2.1 ... | 2008 | 18544337 |
| expression and characterization of recombinant interferon gamma (ifn-gamma) from the nine-banded armadillo (dasypus novemcinctus) and its effect on mycobacterium leprae-infected macrophages. | armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus) manifest the full histopathological spectrum of leprosy, and are hosts of choice for in vivo propagation of mycobacterium leprae. though potentially useful as a model of leprosy pathogenesis, few armadillo-specific reagents exist. we have identified a region of high homology to the interferon gamma (ifn-gamma) of other mammals within the recently published armadillo whole genomic sequence. cdna was made from cona-stimulated armadillo peripheral blood mononuclear ... | 2008 | 18558493 |
| deciphering the proteomic profile of mycobacterium leprae cell envelope. | the complete sequence of the mycobacterium leprae genome, an obligate intracellular pathogen, shows a dramatic reduction of functional genes, with a coding capacity of less than 50%. despite this massive gene decay, the leprosy bacillus has managed to preserve a minimal gene set, most of it shared with mycobacterium tuberculosis, allowing its survival in the host with ensuing pathological manifestations. thus, the identification of proteins that are actually expressed in vivo by m. leprae is of ... | 2008 | 18563741 |
| does clofazimine (b663) reach mycobacterium leprae persisting in schwann cells and endothelial cells of endoneurial blood vessels in peripheral nerves? | peripheral nerve biopsies from 10 lepromatous leprosy (ll) patients who were on multidrug treatment (mdt) were investigated by light and electron microscopy. clofazimine (clf) has been included as an essential component of mdt, which is the standard who regimen for treatment of leprosy. the patients receiving continuous mdt for a long period had viable bacilli in schwann cells (scs) of peripheral nerves whereas they had disappeared from the skin. our ultrastructural observations clearly indicate ... | 2008 | 18567015 |
| powerful bactericidal activity of moxifloxacin in human leprosy. | in a clinical trial of moxifloxacin in eight multibacillary leprosy patients, moxifloxacin proved highly effective. in all trial patients, a single 400-mg dose of moxifloxacin resulted in significant killing (p <or= 0.006) of mycobacterium leprae, ranging from 82% to 99%, with a mean of 91%. in all instances, no viable bacilli were detected with an additional 3 weeks of daily therapy, this observed rapid bactericidal activity being matched previously only by rifampin. on moxifloxacin therapy, sk ... | 2008 | 18573938 |
| erbb2: nonimmune genetic key to leprosy. | 2008 | 18583808 | |
| detection of viable mycobacterium leprae in soil samples: insights into possible sources of transmission of leprosy. | leprosy has ceased to be a public health problem world wide, after the successful implementation of effective chemotherapy (mdt) and use of control measures. however, new cases of leprosy continue to occur. mycobacterium leprae cannot be grown in any acceptable culture medium and besides the wild armadillos, there is no known animal reservoir for leprosy. the transmission of leprosy is believed to be due to a large extent by droplet discharge of bacilli through nose and mouth and to a lesser ext ... | 2008 | 18599381 |
| comparison of the intrabacterial na+,k(+)-ratio and multiplication in the mouse foot pad as measures of the proportion of viable myobacterium lepraemurium. | drug are generally screened for activity against mycobacterium leprae by administration to m. leprae-infected mice, and the efficacy of a chemotherapeutic regimen is assessed by inoculating mice with m. leprae recovered from the skin-biopsy specimens obtained at intervals during treatment. both methods are expensive and time consuming. although a number of methods has been proposed for the rapid distinction between viable and non viable m. leprae, none has found wide acceptance. earlier work had ... | 1993 | 18611531 |
| development of an in vitro drug screening system for mycobacterium leprae based on the determination of the intrabacterial sodium to potassium ratio of individual bacterial organisms. | in vitro drug effects on mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) in a cell-free system have been monitored by mass spectrometric determination of the ratio of the intrabacterial concentrations of the sodium and potassium ions (na(+), k(+) ratio) of a limited number of individual bacteria per sample. from the drug-induced increase of the median values of the distributions of the na(+), k(+) ratio, information on the concentration and time dependence of drug effects as well as on antagonistic or synergis ... | 1994 | 18611617 |
| how to prevent immunological reactions in leprosy patients and interrupt transmission of mycobacterium leprae to healthy subjects: two hypotheses. | the basis of world health organization strategy for leprosy elimination is that the only source and reservoir for infection are patients with the disease. it was assumed that multi drug therapy (mdt) would reduce transmission of mycobacterium leprae, but there is no convincing evidence for this. furthermore, even if mdt has been proved to be extremely effective against the infectious disease, a noticeable proportion of leprosy patients can suffer from immunologic hypersensitivity reactions which ... | 2008 | 18614293 |
| featured organism: reductive evolution in bacteria: buchnera sp., rickettsia prowazekii and mycobacterium leprae. | obligate intracellular bacteria commonly have much reduced genome sizes compared to their nearest free-living relatives. one reason for this is reductive evolution: the loss of genes rendered non-essential due to the intracellular habitat. this can occur because of the presence of orthologous genes in the host, combined with the ability of the bacteria to import the protein or metabolite products of the host genes. in this article we take a look at three such bacteria whose genomes have been ful ... | 2001 | 18628941 |
| administration of ag85b showed therapeutic effects to th2-type cytokine-mediated acute phase atopic dermatitis by inducing regulatory t cells. | increase in the number of patients with atopic dermatitis (ad) has been recently reported. t helper (th) cells that infiltrate ad skin lesions are th2-type dominant; reduced exposure to environmental th1-cytokine-inducing microbes is believed to contribute to the increased number of ad patients. regulatory type immune responses have been also associated with the occurrence of ad. it has been reported that antigen 85b (ag85b) purified from mycobacteria is a potent inducer of th1-type immune respo ... | 2009 | 18633632 |
| host-derived oxidized phospholipids and hdl regulate innate immunity in human leprosy. | intracellular pathogens survive by evading the host immune system and accessing host metabolic pathways to obtain nutrients for their growth. mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, is thought to be the mycobacterium most dependent on host metabolic pathways, including host-derived lipids. although fatty acids and phospholipids accumulate in the lesions of individuals with the lepromatous (also known as disseminated) form of human leprosy (l-lep), the origin and significance of the ... | 2008 | 18636118 |
| survey to identify mycobacterium leprae-infected household contacts of patients from prevalent regions of leprosy in colombia. | leprosy in colombia is in the post-elimination phase; nevertheless, there are regions of this country where the incidence is still around 3-4/100,000. early detection of leprosy patients is a priority for achieving control and elimination of leprosy; however, the clinical exam is not very sensitive and thus, the majority of patients are diagnosed only when they demonstrate lesions, and damage to the nerves and skin has already occurred. the goal of the present study was to identify mycobacterium ... | 2008 | 18660985 |
| morphological and functional characterizations of schwann cells stimulated with mycobacterium leprae. | nerve damage, a characteristic of leprosy, is the cause of patient deformities and a consequence of schwann cells (sc) infection by mycobacterium leprae. although function/dysfunction of sc in human diseases like leprosy is difficult to study, many in vitro models, including sc lines derived from rat and/or human schwannomas, have been employed. st88-14 is one of the cell lineages used by many researchers as a model for m. leprae/sc interaction. however, it is necessary to establish the values a ... | 2008 | 18660991 |
| leprosy-specific oral lesions: a report of three cases. | leprosy is a chronic infection caused by mycobacterium leprae, a bacillus that presents a peculiar tropism for the skin and peripheral nerves. the clinical spectrum of leprosy ranges from the tuberculoid form (tt) to the disseminative and progressive lepromatous form (ll). oral lesions are rare but, when present, occur in the lepromatous form. this article describes the clinical and microscopic findings of three cases of ll with oral manifestations. all patients had the lepromatous form and thei ... | 2008 | 18667979 |
| a geospatial risk assessment model for leprosy in ethiopia based on environmental thermal-hydrological regime analysis. | geospatial methods were used to study the associations of the environmental thermal-hydrological regime with leprosy prevalence in the oromia and amhara regions of ethiopia. prediction models were developed that indicated leprosy prevalence was related to: (i) long-term normal climate grid data on temperature and moisture balance (rain/potential evapo-transpiration); (ii) satellite surveillance data on the normalized difference vegetation index (ndvi) and daytime earth surface temperature (tmax) ... | 2006 | 18686236 |
| protective efficacy of different strategies employing mycobacterium leprae heat-shock protein 65 against tuberculosis. | tuberculosis is a major threat to human health. the high disease burden remains unaffected and the appearance of extremely drug-resistant strains in different parts of the world argues in favor of the urgent need for a new effective vaccine. one of the promising candidates is heat-shock protein 65 when used as a genetic vaccine (dnahsp65). nonetheless, there are substantial data indicating that bcg, the only available anti-tb vaccine for clinical use, provides other important beneficial effects ... | 2008 | 18694348 |
| armauer hansen (1841-1912): discoverer of the cause of leprosy. | 2008 | 18695857 | |
| role of pgl-i of m. leprae in tnf-alpha production by in vitro whole blood assay. | phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) is known to be a major antigen of mycobacterium leprae. we have studied the influence of pgl-i on the production of tumour necrosis factor alpha (tnf-alpha) using the in vitro whole blood assay. armadillo-derived m. leprae (adml) are thought to be depleted of pgl-i during the purification process. m. leprae obtained from mouse foot pad material (mfpml) has been subjected to a less rigorous purification process; their pgl-i coating is therefore believed to be more in ... | 2008 | 18700620 |
| recovery of ifn-gamma levels in pbmcs from lepromatous leprosy patients through the synergistic actions of the cytokines il-12 and il-18. | the shift to the production of a th1 cytokine profile during an intracellular infection has been shown to depend on antigen presenting cells-derived il-12 and t-cell-derived ifn-gamma production. il-18 facilitates th1 priming in synergy with il-12 through the stimulation of ifn-gamma production by t cells, b cells, nk cells, macrophages and dcs. a low level of ifn-gamma production in pbmc cultures from lepromatous leprosy patients (ll) has been previously reported by several groups. we evaluated ... | 2008 | 18708162 |
| thermal threshold tester, a useful tool for detection of very early nerve damage--determination of normal values in a healthy population unexposed to mycobacterium leprae and its application in the a9 study. | in ethiopia, a large percentage of leprosy patients present with established nerve damage. present techniques for measuring nerve function impairment show no abnormality until 30% of nerve axons are destroyed. nerve damage in leprosy occurs first in small diameter unmyelinated fibres, then in small myelinated fibres, and much later in large myelinated fibres. the thermal threshold tester (ttt) was used to measure function in nerves carrying heat sensation (unmyelinated c fibres) and cold sensati ... | 2007 | 18710071 |
| histopathological study of ocular erythema nodosum leprosum and post-therapeutic scleral perforation: a case report. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by mycobacterium leprae , clinically present either as tuberculoid, borderline or lepromatous type. erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) is an acute humoral response in the chronic course of lepromatous leprosy. although very severe enl reactions are known in systemic leprosy, such severity is rare in ocular tissues. a leprosy uveitis patient suffered from a severe form of post-therapeutic enl reaction which resulted in perforation of the globe at the ... | 2008 | 18711273 |
| a comparison of ml flow serology and slit skin smears to assess the bacterial load in newly diagnosed leprosy patients in brazil. | the ml flow test is an immunochromatographic assay that detects igm antibodies against m. leprae-specific anti-phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i). in addition to slit skin smears stained by the ziehl-neelsen technique, it can be helpful in the operational classification of leprosy patients for treatment purposes. | 2008 | 18711938 |
| selection of antigens and development of prototype tests for point-of-care leprosy diagnosis. | leprosy can be a devastating chronic infection that causes nerve function impairment and associated disfigurement. despite the recent reduction in the number of registered worldwide leprosy cases as a result of the widespread use of multidrug therapy, the number of new cases detected each year remains relatively stable. the diagnosis of leprosy is currently based on the appearance of clinical signs and requires expert clinical, as well as labor-intensive and time-consuming laboratory or histolog ... | 2008 | 18716007 |
| administration of m. leprae hsp65 interferes with the murine lupus progression. | the heat shock protein [hsp] family guides several steps during protein synthesis, are abundant in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, and are highly conserved during evolution. the hsp60 family is involved in assembly and transport of proteins, and is expressed at very high levels during autoimmunity or autoinflammatory phenomena. here, the pathophysiological role of the wild type [wt] and the point mutated k(409)a recombinant hsp65 of m. leprae in an animal model of systemic lupus erythematosus ... | 2008 | 18716655 |
| lightcycler real-time pcr for rapid detection and quantitation of mycobacterium leprae in skin specimens. | diagnosis of leprosy is usually based on clinical features and skin smear results including the number of skin lesions. mycobacterium leprae is not cultivable and bacterial enumeration by microscopic examination is required for leprosy classification, choice in choosing and monitoring chemotherapy regimens, and diagnosis of relapse. however, detection and quantification using standard microscopy yields results of limited specificity and sensitivity. we describe an extremely sensitive and specifi ... | 2008 | 18783434 |