Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| leprosy and peripheral neuropathy. | leprosy, although rare in the united states, continues to be a leading cause of peripheral neuropathy and blindness worldwide. we describe the pathogenic agent mycobacterium leprae and discuss the epidemiology of this disease. the different classification schemes are compared and the clinical and laboratory features are presented. finally, the immunology, pathology, and the treatment are discussed. | 2004 | 19078734 |
| gm-csf-mediated t-cell activation by macrophages infected with recombinant bcg that secretes major membrane protein-ii of mycobacterium leprae. | the potential of mycobacterium bovis bacillus calmette-guerin (bcg) needs to be augmented to efficiently activate cd4(+) t cells through macrophages. mycobacterium leprae-derived recombinant major membrane protein (mmp)-ii induced gm-csf production from macrophages. a recombinant bcg-sm that secretes mmp-ii more efficiently produced gm-csf and activated interferon (ifn)-gamma-producing cd4(+) t cells than did vector control bcg when infected with macrophages. the t-cell activation by bcg-sm was ... | 2009 | 19076223 |
| identification, characterization, and azole-binding properties of mycobacterium smegmatis cyp164a2, a homolog of ml2088, the sole cytochrome p450 gene of mycobacterium leprae. | the genome sequence of mycobacterium leprae revealed a single open reading frame, ml2088 (cyp164a1), encoding a putative full-length cytochrome p450 monooxygenase and 12 pseudogenes. we have identified a homolog of ml2088 in mycobacterium smegmatis and report here the cloning, expression, purification, and azole-binding characteristics of this cytochrome p450 (cyp164a2). cyp164a2 is 1,245 bp long and encodes a protein of 414 amino acids and molecular mass of 45 kda. cyp164a2 has 60% identity wit ... | 2009 | 19075057 |
| lepromatous leprosy. | lepromatous leprosy is a form of chronic granulomatous disease that is caused by infection with mycobacterium leprae. early involvement is marked by widespread, ill-defined, erythematous papules and plaques. with early intervention, leprosy is a curable disease; however, if not recognized and treated promptly, permanent sequelae and disability result. we present a patient with long-standing lepromatous leprosy who exhibits many of these sequelae. | 2008 | 19061626 |
| wade histoid leprosy masquerading as eruptive xanthomas. | 2008 | 19061579 | |
| expression of adipose differentiation-related protein (adrp) and perilipin in macrophages infected with mycobacterium leprae. | mycobacterium leprae survives and replicates within a lipid droplet stored in the enlarged phagosome of histiocytes, a typical feature of lepromatous leprosy that is thought to be an important nutrient source for the bacillus. however, the underlying mechanisms by which lipids accumulate within phagosomes remain unclear. recently, it was revealed that the lipid droplet-associated proteins, including adrp and perilipin, play essential roles in lipid accumulation in adipocytes or macrophages. ther ... | 2008 | 19054096 |
| leprosy pathogenetic background: a review and lessons from other mycobacterial diseases. | leprosy is a disease caused by mycobacterium leprae that initially affects the peripheral nervous system with patients exhibiting contrasting clinical, immunological, and pathological manifestations despite minimal genetic variation among bacilli isolates. its clinical manifestations are related to m. leprae survival, innate and acquired immune responses, and interactions between host and bacterial proteins, preventing their invasion and infection, or promoting their development and pathogenesis ... | 2009 | 19043725 |
| functional characterization of a small heat shock protein from mycobacterium leprae. | small heat shock proteins are ubiquitous family of stress proteins, having a role in virulence and survival of the pathogen. m. leprae, the causative agent of leprosy is an uncultivable organism in defined media, hence the biology and function of proteins were examined by cloning m. leprae genes in heterologous hosts. the study on shsp18 was carried out as the knowledge about the functions of this major immunodominant antigen of m. leprae is scanty. | 2008 | 19040732 |
| classification of leprosy into multibacillary and paucibacillary groups: an analysis. | classification of leprosy patients into multibacillary and paucibacillary determines the duration of their treatment. misclassification leads to increased risk of relapse due to insufficient treatment if a multibacillary patient is classified as paucibacillary. this also prolongs the time the patient is infective. over the years, the criteria used for classification (for treatment purpose) of leprosy patients have changed significantly from bacterial index measuring approach through number of sk ... | 2009 | 19040664 |
| do human gammadelta t cells respond to m tuberculosis protein antigens? | 2008 | 19029457 | |
| dnahsp65 vaccination induces protection in mice against paracoccidioides brasiliensis infection. | heat-shock proteins are molecules with extensive data showing their potential as immunomodulators of different types of diseases. the gene of hsp65 from mycobacterium leprae has shown prophylactic and immunotherapeutic effects against a broad arrays of experimental models including tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, arthritis and diabetes. with this in mind, we tested the dnahsp65 vaccine using an experimental model of paraccocidiodomycosis, an important endemic mycosis in latin america. the intramusc ... | 2009 | 19028537 |
| a new mycobacterium species causing diffuse lepromatous leprosy. | mycobacterium leprae causes leprosy. m leprae strains collected worldwide have been genetically clonal, which poorly explains the varying severity and clinical features of the disease. we discovered a new mycobacterium species from 2 patients who died of diffuse lepromatous leprosy (dll). the mycobacterium was purified from heavily infected, freshly frozen autopsy liver tissue followed by dna extraction in 1 case. paraffin-embedded skin tissue was used for dna extraction in another case. six gen ... | 2008 | 19019760 |
| histoid leprosy: a retrospective study of 40 cases from india. | rare variants of leprosy pose a diagnostic challenge even to astute clinicians and histoid leprosy is one such form of disease with unique clinical and histopathological features. there are very few large series on this entity, mainly reported from india. | 2009 | 19016704 |
| can primary health centres offer care to the leprosy-disabled after integration with general health services?--a study in rural india. | 2008 | 19009987 | |
| schwann cell invasion by m. leprae: the probable trojan horse. | 2008 | 19009985 | |
| two microbiological relapses in a patient with lepromatous leprosy. | a lepromatous patient treated with dapsone in the pre-mdt era to the point of smear negativity (> 6 years), relapsed 5 years after stopping treatment. he was then put on who-mdt for multibacillary (mb) leprosy, and was treated again; he had negative slit skin smears (3 years). he again presented with a relapse of leprosy 17 years after stopping treatment, and this time he presented with borderline leprosy in reaction. | 2008 | 19009984 |
| relapses in multibacillary leprosy patients after multidrug therapy. | to determine the magnitude of relapses in multibacillary leprosy patients after multi-drug therapy and to determine the factors influencing the relapse. | 2008 | 19009982 |
| assessment of subclinical leprosy infection through the measurement of pgl-1 antibody levels in residents of a former leprosy colony in thailand. | to investigate the hypothesis that there is continuing subclinical m. leprae infection, contributing to ongoing transmission of leprosy in phra-pradaeng colony. | 2008 | 19009981 |
| activation of complement by mycobacterium leprae requires disruption of the bacilli. | the immune-mediated events that precipitate erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) are not well understood. one component may be the complexing of antibody with antigens released from infected macrophages, the activation of complement and the subsequent local inflammation. we assess here the ability of highly-purified, disrupted m. leprae, to activate complement. | 2008 | 19009980 |
| an 8-12 year follow-up of highly bacillated indian leprosy patients treated with who multi-drug therapy. | to follow up highly bacillated leprosy patients for a long period after release from treatment (rft) and to look out for possibility of relapses. | 2008 | 19009979 |
| erythema nodosum leprosum in nepal: a retrospective study of clinical features and response to treatment with prednisolone or thalidomide. | erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) is an inflammatory reaction, which may occur in the course of leprosy and may result in nerve function impairment and subsequent disability. | 2008 | 19009975 |
| the biology of nerve injury in leprosy. | the steps in the pathogenesis of nerve injury in leprosy are depicted in figure 1. localisation of m. leprae to nerve, schwann cell infection & responses, as yet unknown mechanisms of injury, axonal atrophy, and finally demyelination. these steps, and the mechanisms responsible for them, occur quickly in the course of this disease (as noted, even the earliest diagnostic lesions have sensory abnormalities), but they are also chronic processes that may contribute to progressive nerve injury over a ... | 2008 | 19009974 |
| [detection of mycobacterium leprae dna in nasal swab]. | studies have demonstrated high sensibility of the polimerase chain reaction (pcr) technique in the identification of the mycobacterium leprae dna . this study aimed to evalue the pcr sensibility at the detection of the m. leprae dna in nasal swab of leprosy patients and to compare the results with the bacilloscopy and multibacillary (mbs) and paucibacilares (pbs) forms. nasal secretion samples of 24 leprosy patients were collected, and were preserved in one and two lise's solution. the pcr resul ... | 2008 | 19009116 |
| [evaluation of training programs in hansen's disease: opinion of physicians and nurses of family health teams]. | hansen's disease is a contagious, milenar disease caused by the mycobacterium leprae that manifests itself in the cutaneal cells and the peripheral nerves. in the decade of 1990, the control for the disease was descentralized from the state to the municipality level. a northeastern state in brazil implemented a series of training programs for health professionals in primary attention. the objective of this study was to evaluate these training programs, based on the opinions of the physicians and ... | 2008 | 19009106 |
| rapid hiv testing among leprosy patients: a brazilian experience. | 2008 | 19000392 | |
| [lepromatous leprosy revealed by a swollen hands syndrome]. | osteoarticular pathology in leprosy is common and described at all stages, but rarely as the most evident clinical manifestation. we report a case of borderline lepromatous leprosy with initial and disabling hands edema. the swollen hands syndrome is probably due to chronic mycobacterium leprae tenosynovitis. | 2009 | 18993001 |
| efficient chemical synthesis of a dodecasaccharidyl lipomannan component of mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan. | lipomannan (lm) is one of the domains of lipoarabinomannan (lam) glycolipids, the latter being one of several cell surface organic molecules that fortify mycobacterial species against external attack. some members of mycobacterial families are pathogenic, most notably mycobacterium tuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae, while others are nonpathogenic, and used in the clinic, such as mycobacterium smegmatis. additional biological significance arises from the fact that lm has been implicated in se ... | 2008 | 18989931 |
| enumeration of mycobacterium leprae using real-time pcr. | mycobacterium leprae is not cultivable in axenic media, and direct microscopic enumeration of the bacilli is complex, labor intensive, and suffers from limited sensitivity and specificity. we have developed a real-time pcr assay for quantifying m. leprae dna in biological samples. primers were identified to amplify a shared region of the multicopy repeat sequence (rlep) specific to m. leprae and tested for sensitivity and specificity in the taqman format. the assay was specific for m. leprae and ... | 2008 | 18982056 |
| immunogenicity and protective efficacy of "mycobacterium w" against mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice immunized with live versus heat-killed m. w by the aerosol or parenteral route. | as the disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis continues to be a burden, there is a concerted effort to find new vaccines to combat this problem. one of the important vaccine strategies is whole bacterial vaccines. this approach relies on multiple antigens and built-in adjuvanticity. other mycobacterial strains which share cross-reactive antigens with m. tuberculosis have been considered as alternatives to m. bovis for vaccine use. one such strain, "mycobacterium w", had been evaluated for ... | 2009 | 18981249 |
| serological diagnosis of leprosy in patients in vietnam by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with mycobacterium leprae-derived major membrane protein ii. | a serological diagnostic test using phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) developed in the 1980s is commercially available, but the method is still inefficient in detecting all forms of leprosy. therefore, more-specific and -reliable serological methods have been sought. we have characterized major membrane protein ii (mmp-ii) as a candidate protein for a new serological antigen. in this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) using the mmp-ii antigen (mmp- ... | 2008 | 18945881 |
| [not available]. | 1948 | 18935251 | |
| long simple sequence repeats in host-adapted pathogens localize near genes encoding antigens, housekeeping genes, and pseudogenes. | simple sequence repeats (ssrs) in dna sequences are tandem iterations of a single nucleotide or a short oligonucleotide. ssrs are subject to slipped-strand mutations and a common source of phase variation in bacteria and antigenic variation in pathogens. significantly long ssrs are generally rare in prokaryotic genomes, and long ssrs composed of iterations of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetranucleotides are mostly restricted to host-adapted pathogens. we present new results concerning associations bet ... | 2008 | 18925380 |
| immunology of leprosy; antigens derived from mycobacterium leprae in oily suspension. | 1947 | 18919926 | |
| a study of the morphology of mycobacterium leprae by electron microscopy. | 1948 | 18877283 | |
| a genomic view on nitrogen metabolism and nitrogen control in mycobacteria. | knowledge about nitrogen metabolism and control in the genus mycobacterium is sparse, especially compared to the state of knowledge in related actinomycetes like streptomyces coelicolor or the close relative corynebacterium glutamicum. therefore, we screened the published genome sequences of mycobacterium smegmatis, mycobacterium tuberculosis, mycobacterium bovis, mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis and mycobacterium leprae for genes encoding proteins for uptake of nitrogen sources, nitrog ... | 2009 | 18824837 |
| the spatial distribution of leprosy in four villages in bangladesh: an observational study. | there is a higher case-detection rate for leprosy among spatially proximate contacts such as household members and neighbors. spatial information regarding the clustering of leprosy can be used to improve intervention strategies. identifying high-risk areas within villages around known cases can be helpful in finding new cases. | 2008 | 18811968 |
| a novel method for simple detection of mutations conferring drug resistance in mycobacterium leprae, based on a dna microarray, and its applicability in developing countries. | a simple method to detect mutations in the genome of mycobacterium leprae that confer resistance to key drugs for leprosy was exploited on the basis of a reverse hybridization system. a series of oligonucleotide probes corresponding to each mutation in the folp1, rpob and gyra genes for dapsone, rifampicin and ofloxacin resistance, respectively, were selected and fixed on a glass slide as capture probes, to develop a dna microarray termed the leprosy drug susceptibility-dna microarray (lds-da). ... | 2008 | 18809547 |
| leprosy-related joint involvement. | we estimate the prevalence and evaluate the clinical characteristics of leprosy related arthritis. one thousand, two hundred fifty-seven leprosy patients were attended at "alfredo da matta" outpatient clinic in the state of amazonas, brazil from july to october 2004. among them, 115 patients were identified with articular pain and were referred for evaluation with rheumatologist. blood samples were collected and radiological evaluation of the involved joints was performed. all patients with arth ... | 2009 | 18807102 |
| [history for animal model of hansen's disease and characteristics of leprosy in hypertensive nude rat]. | the long search of an animal model for leprosy were carried out as many researchers since the mycobacterium leprae discovery by dr. hansen in 1874. the remarkable results were left after the development of the foot-pad method by dr. shepard in 1960. the introduction of the t-r mouse and athymic (nude) mouse for leprosy research, alsospontaneity examples of hansen's disease was reported to armadillo, chimpanzee and mangabay monkey, and it was confirmed that hansen's disease was the zoonosis. alth ... | 2008 | 18800640 |
| [drug resistance of multibacillary leprosy patients in japan--results of molecular genetic analyses]. | gene mutation of mycobacterium leprae was studied on bacilli-positive multibacillary leprosy patients since 2000 in japan. subjects: ll 31 cases, bl 7 cases. results: gene mutation of folp was found in 19/36 cases (52.8%), that of rpob in 13/33 cases (39.4%), that of gyra in 6/31 cases (16.8%). five cases showed both mutations of folp and rpob, and one case showed those of fol/p and gyra. mutations of folp, rpob andgyra all were found in 4/36 cases (10.3%). high incidence of resistance to dds or ... | 2008 | 18800639 |
| contact with armadillos increases the risk of leprosy in brazil: a case control study. | mycobacterium leprae infection has recently been detected in wild armadillos in brazil. leprosy is still endemic in brazil and although its transmission is mostly by person-to-person contact, many cases report no history of previously known leprosy contact. it has been suggested that other sources of m. leprae may contribute to the transmission of leprosy in some areas. aim: our objective was to investigate whether contact with armadillos is associated with leprosy. | 2008 | 18797053 |
| does nerve examination improve diagnostic efficacy of the who classification of leprosy? | in the year 1998 who proposed that the clinical criteria of counting skin lesions alone should decide whether a patient receives multibacillary (mb) or paucibacillary (pb) mdt. there is a concern that a significant number of patients may be incorrectly treated under these guidelines. | 2008 | 18797051 |
| diagnosing multibacillary leprosy: a comparative evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of slit-skin smear, bacterial index of granuloma and who operational classification. | in view of the relatively poor performance of skin smears who adopted a purely clinical operational classification, however the poor specificity of operational classification leads to overdiagnosis and unwarranted overtreatment while the poor sensitivity leads to underdiagnosis of multibacillary (mb) cases with inadequate treatment. bacilli are more frequently and abundantly demonstrated in tissue sections. | 2008 | 18797050 |
| antigen-specific t-cell responses of leprosy patients. | the identification of human t-cell antigens of mycobacterium leprae could improve treatment and help to disrupt the transmission of leprosy by directing diagnosis and vaccine programs. this study screened a panel of m. leprae recombinant proteins for t-cell recall responses, measured by gamma interferon (ifn-gamma) production, among leprosy patients. after initial studies using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from leprosy patients, we transitioned our studies to simple whole-blood assays (wba ... | 2008 | 18784342 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| armauer hansen (1841-1912): discoverer of the cause of leprosy. | 2008 | 18695857 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| erbb2: nonimmune genetic key to leprosy. | 2008 | 18583808 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| armadillos as a source of infection for leprosy. | 2008 | 18475233 | |
| leprosy is (still) here, but recognition is often delayed. | 2008 | 18475232 | |
| 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: 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| an elderly woman with a diffuse annular eruption. | 2008 | 18419493 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| [insatiable challenge for eradication of leprosy]. | 2008 | 18389941 | |
| 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 |
| [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 |
| [worsening of leprosy lesions in a philippine-born patient]. | 2008 | 18341924 | |
| 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 |
| [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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |