Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| epidemiological and clinical patterns of 92 patients co-infected with hiv and mycobacterium leprae from rio de janeiro state, brazil. | many articles have shown that hiv infection can modify the clinical course of leprosy, but very scant epidemiological and clinical data about this co-infection are available in the peer-reviewed literature. | 2014 | 24361943 |
| reprogramming diminishes retention of mycobacterium leprae in schwann cells and elevates bacterial transfer property to fibroblasts. | bacterial pathogens can manipulate or subvert host tissue cells to their advantage at different stages during infection, from initial colonization in primary host niches to dissemination. recently, we have shown that mycobacterium leprae (ml), the causative agent of human leprosy, reprogrammed its preferred host niche de-differentiated adult schwann cells to progenitor/stem cell-like cells (pslc) which appear to facilitate bacterial spread. here, we studied how this cell fate change influences b ... | 2013 | 24358891 |
| indeterminate leprosy and lepromatous index case: four cases in the same family. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, which primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves. brazil remains as the country with the second largest number of cases in the world. we report the case of three patients diagnosed with indeterminate leprosy in the same family. two patients were hiv positive. an active search led to the discovery of the index case. it was crucial to persist in the search of the index case. this report shows how important it is to teach ... | 2015 | 24346893 |
| leprosy as a model of immunity. | leprosy displays a spectrum of clinical manifestations, such as lepromatous and tuberculoid leprosy, and type i and ii lepra reactions, which are thought to be a reflection of the host's immunological response against mycobacterium leprae. therefore, differential recognition of m. leprae, as well as its degraded components, and subsequent activation of cellular immunity will be an important factor for the clinical manifestation of leprosy. although m. leprae mainly parasitizes tissue macrophages ... | 2014 | 24328380 |
| reactive perforating leprosy: pustular erythema nodosum leprosum with epidermal perforation and liberation of mycobacterium leprae. | 2014 | 24319988 | |
| innate immune response precedes mycobacterium leprae-induced reprogramming of adult schwann cells. | recently, we showed a natural reprogramming process during infection with mycobacterium leprae (ml), the causative organism of human leprosy. ml hijacks the notable plasticity of adult schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system (pns), bacteria's preferred nonimmune niche, to reprogram infected cells to progenitor/stem cell-like cells (pslcs). whereas ml appear to use this reprogramming process as a sophisticated bacterial strategy to spread infection to other tissues, understanding the mecha ... | 2014 | 24279882 |
| antioxidant factors, nitric oxide levels, and cellular damage in leprosy patients. | the immune response caused by mycobacterium leprae is a risk factor for the development of oxidative stress (os) in leprosy patients. this study aimed to assess os in leprosy patients before the use of a multidrug therapy. | 2013 | 24270257 |
| autophagy gene polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to leprosy by affecting inflammatory cytokines. | autophagy and inflammation closely interact with each other, and together, they play critical roles in bacterial infection. leprosy is caused by the infection of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae). the objective of the study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms in irgm, an autophagy gene, and susceptibility to leprosy, and identify possible functions of the polymorphism in the infection of m. leprae. two polymorphisms in irgm, rs4958842 and rs13361189, were tested in 412 lepros ... | 2014 | 24264476 |
| resistance of m. leprae to quinolones: a question of relativity? | multidrug resistant leprosy, defined as resistance to rifampin, dapsone and fluoroquinolones (fq), has been described in mycobacterium leprae. however, the in vivo impact of fluoroquinolone resistance, mainly mediated by mutations in dna gyrase (gyra2gyrb2), has not been precisely assessed. our objective was to measure the impact of a dna gyrase mutation whose implication in fluoroquinolone resistance has been previously demonstrated through biochemical studies, on the in vivo activity of 3 fluo ... | 2013 | 24244784 |
| increased frequency of cd4 and cd8 regulatory t cells in individuals under 15 years with multibacillary leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic disease, caused by mycobacterium leprae, which poses a serious public health problem worldwide. its high incidence in people under 15 years old in ceará state, brazil, reflects the difficulty of its control. the spectrum of clinical manifestations is associated with the immune response developed, with the th1 and th2 responses being related to the paucibacillary and multibacillary forms, respectively. regulatory t cells (treg), which can suppress th1 and th2 response, have r ... | 2013 | 24244424 |
| non pitting edema, arthritis and ichthyosis; presenting manifestation of leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by mycobacterium leprae. predominantly involving skin and nerves and having classic clinical description, the diagnosis may be clear-cut in majority of patients but may be challenging in others. non-pitting edema, ichthyosis and arthritis are uncommon in leprosy and very rare in tuberculoid type where the diagnosis may be challenging unlike relatively clear-cut clinical picture in lepromatous type. musculoskeletal manifestation is seen in 1-5% ... | 2013 | 24236367 |
| ulcerating type 1 lepra reaction mimicking lazarine leprosy: an unusual presentation of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in an hiv-infected patient. | leprosy maybe "unmasked" in the context of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome and treating dermatologists, particularly in highly endemic areas for hansen's disease, need to be cognizant to this possibility. it may also reflect emergence of a previously clinically silent infection in the course of immunologic restoration. | 2013 | 24216029 |
| foxp3 provides competitive fitness to cd4⁺cd25⁺ t cells in leprosy patients via transcriptional regulation. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. foxp3 have been shown to have important implications in various diseases. the present study describes the mechanism of action of foxp3 in cd4⁺cd25⁺ t cells derived from leprosy patients. increased molecular interactions of foxp3 with histone deacetylases 7/9 in the nucleus of cd4⁺cd25⁺ t cells derived from borderline lepromatous leprosy/lepromatous leprosy (bl/ll) patients were found to be responsible for foxp3-driven immune ... | 2014 | 24214631 |
| gerhard henrik armauer hansen (1841-1912)--the 100th anniversary of the death of the discoverer of mycobacterium leprae. | the year 2012 marked the 100th anniversary of the death of gerhard henrik armauer hansen (1841-1912), a norwegian physician known for his identification of mycobacterium leprae as the causative agent of leprosy. in the second half of the 19th century, the medical community believed leprosy had a noninfectious etiology, and it was not until hansen uncovered the relationship between m leprae and the clinical manifestations of this disease did that belief begin to change. strengthening of the late ... | 2013 | 24205518 |
| molecular assays for determining mycobacterium leprae viability in tissues of experimentally infected mice. | the inability of mycobacterium leprae to grow on axenic media has necessitated specialized techniques in order to determine viability of this organism. the purpose of this study was to develop a simple and sensitive molecular assay for determining m. leprae viability directly from infected tissues. | 2013 | 24179562 |
| estimation of serum level of interleukin-17 and interleukin-4 in leprosy, towards more understanding of leprosy immunopathogenesis. | combating mycobacterium leprae is known to be via t-helper1 response. however, other t-helper effector cells; t-helper17 and t-helper2; play a role, particularly in the context of disease type. | 2015 | 24177608 |
| ackerman's tumour of buccal mucosa in a leprosy patient. | leprosy (hansen's disease) is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by mycobacterium leprae (hansen's bacillus). oral manifestations occur in 20-60% of cases, usually in lepromatous leprosy, and are well documented. they may involve both the oral hard and soft tissues. incidence of verrucous carcinoma/ackerman's tumour developing in anogenital region and plantar surfaces of feet in lepromatous leprosy has been sufficiently documented in the literature. however, association of oral verrucous car ... | 2013 | 24171242 |
| pancytopenia due to lepromatous involvement of the bone marrow: successful treatment with multidrug therapy. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease with a wide spectrum of signs and symptoms depending on the ability of the host's immune system to resist the infection. the disease is frequently associated with sensory loss in skin lesions and damage in peripheral nerve trunks leading to nerve function impairment. in lepromatous leprosy, the immune system offers no protection against the multiplying bacilli and this results in heavy infiltration of the internal organs. we report a case of florid leproma ... | 2013 | 24171241 |
| genetic association of g896a polymorphism of tlr4 gene in leprosy through family-based and case-control study designs. | polymorphisms in tlr4 may change the function of the protein and alter the efficiency of immune response of host to infection. the high relevance of host gene polymorphisms with outcome of mycobacterium leprae infection led us to study the genetic association of tlr4 g896a polymorphism in order to identify its risk among contacts of affected leprosy patients. | 2013 | 24169261 |
| sensory improvement of leprosy peripheral neuropathy in patients treated with perineural injection of platelet-rich plasma. | leprosy (hansen's disease) is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by mycobacterium leprae with peripheral neuropathy as cutaneous and neurological manifestations. peripheral nerve regeneration may be stimulated by vascular endothelial growth factor and other growth factors (gfs) that have important roles in extracellular matrix regeneration. all of those gfs can be found in platelet-rich plasma (prp) preparation. the effect of prp injection in leprosy peripheral neuropathy has never been re ... | 2014 | 24168291 |
| development of a quantitative rapid diagnostic test for multibacillary leprosy using smart phone technology. | despite efforts to eliminate leprosy as public health problem, delayed diagnosis and disabilities still occur in many countries. leprosy diagnosis remains based on clinical manifestations and the number of clinicians with expertise in leprosy diagnosis is in decline. we have developed a new immunochromatographic test with the goal of producing a simple and rapid system that can be used, with a minimal amount of training, to provide an objective and consistent diagnosis of multibacillary leprosy. | 2013 | 24152601 |
| leprosy neuropathy: clinical presentations. | leprosy is a chronic infectious peripheral neuropathy caused by mycobacterium leprae. the different clinical presentations of the disease are determined by the quality of the host immune response. early detection of leprosy and treatment by multidrug therapy are the most important steps in preventing deformity and disability. thus the early recognition of the clinical leprosy presentation is essential. mononeuritis, mononeuritis multiplex (mm), polyneuritis (mm summation) are the most frequent. ... | 2013 | 24141500 |
| mycobacterial phenolic glycolipids with a simplified lipid aglycone modulate cytokine levels through toll-like receptor 2. | phenolic glycolipids (pgls) are virulence factors present in the cell walls of many pathogenic mycobacteria. pgls have been implicated in various aspects of mycobacterial disease, but there are limited structure-activity data available for these molecules. we report here the preparation of seven synthetic pgl analogues, differing from the native compounds in the replacement of the complex phenolic lipid moiety with a p-methoxyphenyl group. the ability of these compounds to stimulate or inhibit t ... | 2013 | 24115598 |
| drug resistance in patients with leprosy in the united states. | molecular drug susceptibility testing was performed on 39 us patients with leprosy. of these, 2 had dapsone-resistant mycobacterium leprae and 1 of these patients also had rifampin-resistant m. leprae. even though antileprosy drug resistance occurs in this leprosy population, resistance does not appear to be a major problem. | 2014 | 24065328 |
| haemoglobins of mycobacteria: structural features and biological functions. | the genus mycobacterium is comprised of gram-positive bacteria occupying a wide range of natural habitats and includes species that range from severe intracellular pathogens to economically useful and harmless microbes. the recent upsurge in the availability of microbial genome data has shown that genes encoding haemoglobin-like proteins are ubiquitous among mycobacteria and that multiple haemoglobins (hbs) of different classes may be present in pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. the occurre ... | 2013 | 24054797 |
| leprosy in pregnant woman, united states. | 2013 | 24050493 | |
| mycobacterium leprae dna in peripheral blood may indicate a bacilli migration route and high-risk for leprosy onset. | leprosy epidemiological studies have been restricted to mycobacterium leprae dna detection in nasal and oral mucosa samples with scarce literature on peripheral blood. we present the largest study applying quantitative real-time pcr (qpcr) for the detection of m. leprae dna in peripheral blood samples of 200 untreated leprosy patients and 826 household contacts, with results associated with clinical and laboratory parameters. to detect m. leprae dna a taqman qpcr assay targeting the m. leprae ml ... | 2014 | 24033793 |
| nerve damage in leprosy: a continuing challenge to scientists, clinicians and service providers. | this review focuses on nerve damage in leprosy. we present evidence to support the argument that leprosy is best seen as a chronic neurological condition rather than a simple skin disease. nerve damage affects small dermal nerves and peripheral nerve trunks. perineural inflammation is a characteristic and hallmark of early leprosy. t cell-mediated inflammation is the main pathological process in leprosy nerve damage. the level of nerve damage in leprosy is high with up to 60% of multibacillary p ... | 2012 | 24029146 |
| a s52p mutation in the 'α-crystallin domain' of mycobacterium leprae hsp18 reduces its oligomeric size and chaperone function. | mycobacterium leprae hsp18 is a small heat shock protein (shsp). it is a major immunodominant antigen of m. leprae pathogen. previously, we have reported the existence of two m. leprae hsp18 variants in various leprotic patients. one of the variants has serine at position 52, whereas the other one has proline at the same position. we have also reported that hsp18 having proline at position 52 (hsp18p(52)) is a nonameric protein and exhibits chaperone function. however, the structural and functio ... | 2013 | 24024660 |
| assessment of serum level of interleukin-1b and interleukin-12 in leprosy: impact of previous bacillus calmitte guerin vaccination. | macrophages play an important role in attempt to eliminate mycobacteria, via production of cytokines, including interleukin-1, and interleukin-12. bacillus calmitte guerin (bcg) vaccination, known to induce interleukin-1β in tuberculosis, was originally aimed at tuberculosis control, but it showed efficacy against leprosy. our aim was to estimate serum levels of interleukin-1β and interleukin-12, in leprosy, and to assess the impact of previous bcg vaccination on their levels. serum interleukin- ... | 2014 | 24022478 |
| a case of hansen disease presenting as tinea versicolor. | hansen disease (leprosy) is an infectious disease that targets macrophages and schwann cells, caused by the acid fast intracellular organism, mycobacterium leprae. clinically, it presents with a spectrum of findings that may include hypopigmented macules, erythematous plaques and nodules, and thickened or tender peripheral nerves. the most feared complication is mutilating damage to facial structures or digits resulting from loss of sensation in affected skin. in non-endemic areas, the diagnosis ... | 2013 | 24021367 |
| profiling microrna expression in bovine alveolar macrophages using rna-seq. | micrornas (mirnas) are important regulators of gene expression and are known to play a key role in regulating both adaptive and innate immunity. bovine alveolar macrophages (bams) help maintain lung homeostasis and constitute the front line of host defense against several infectious respiratory diseases, such as bovine tuberculosis. little is known, however, about the role mirnas play in these cells. in this study, we used a high-throughput sequencing approach, rna-seq, to determine the expressi ... | 2013 | 24021155 |
| [genotyping of mycobacterium leprae in guangdong province]. | to understand the genotypes of mycobacterium leprae collected from guangdong province, china and to analyze the routes of leprosy transmission both inside and outside of guangdong. the impact of emigrant leprosy patients to the endemic nature of the disease in guangdong was also studied. | 2013 | 24016427 |
| lrrk2 and ripk2 variants in the nod 2-mediated signaling pathway are associated with susceptibility to mycobacterium leprae in indian populations. | in recent years, genome wide association studies have discovered a large number of gene loci that play a functional role in innate and adaptive immune pathways associated with leprosy susceptibility. the immunological control of intracellular bacteria m. leprae is modulated by nod2-mediated signaling of th1 responses. in this study, we investigated 211 clinically classified leprosy patients and 230 ethnically matched controls in indian population by genotyping four variants in nod2 (rs9302752a/g ... | 2013 | 24015287 |
| the ubiquitin ligase parkin mediates resistance to intracellular pathogens. | ubiquitin-mediated targeting of intracellular bacteria to the autophagy pathway is a key innate defence mechanism against invading microbes, including the important human pathogen mycobacterium tuberculosis. however, the ubiquitin ligases responsible for catalysing ubiquitin chains that surround intracellular bacteria are poorly understood. the parkin protein is a ubiquitin ligase with a well-established role in mitophagy, and mutations in the parkin gene (park2) lead to increased susceptibility ... | 2013 | 24005326 |
| rifampicin-resistant mycobacterium leprae in an elderly leprosy patient in the people's republic of china. | the reported number of registered leprosy patients worldwide declined with the introduction of multidrug therapy. however, the emergence of rifampicin resistance in leprosy patients engenders difficulties for an individual patient, and its dissemination could pose a threat to leprosy control. this study reports an elderly patient who was diagnosed with rifampicin-resistant lepromatous leprosy. this case indicates that inadequate treatment and poor compliance may eventually result in rifampicin r ... | 2013 | 23986632 |
| new findings in the pathogenesis of leprosy and implications for the management of leprosy. | this review focuses on recent work in leprosy pathogenesis. new research of both innate and adaptive immune responses to mycobacterium leprae is described. the proposition that mycobacterium lepromatosis is a new species causing leprosy is discussed. | 2013 | 23982232 |
| haplotypes of the il10 gene as potential protection factors in leprosy patients. | leprosy is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae characterized by dermatoneurological signs and symptoms that has a large number of new cases worldwide. several studies have associated interleukin 10 with susceptibility/resistance to several diseases. we investigated haplotypes formed by three single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) located in the il10 gene (a-1082g, c-819t, and c-592a) in order to better understand the susceptibility to and severity of leprosy in an admixed northe ... | 2013 | 23966553 |
| leprosy association with low masp-2 levels generated by masp2 haplotypes and polymorphisms flanking map19 exon 5. | the gene masp2 (mannan-binding lectin (mbl)-associated serine protease 2) encodes two proteins, masp-2 and map19 (mbl-associated protein of 19 kda), bound in plasma to mbl and ficolins. the binding of mbl/masp-2 and ficolin/masp-2 complexes to microorganisms activates the lectin pathway of complement and may increase the ingestion of intracellular pathogens such as mycobacterium leprae. | 2013 | 23935922 |
| leprosy and hepatitis b coinfection in southern brazil. | to investigate the association of leprosy with hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection, as yet unknown for south brazil, we assessed hepatitis b virus coinfection in 199 south brazilian leprosy patients (119 lepromatous, 15 tuberculoid, 30 borderline, 12 undetermined and 23 unspecified) and in 681 matched blood donors by screening for the hepatitis b virus markers hbsag and anti-hbc, using elisa. positive samples were retested and anti-hbc+ only samples were tested for the hepatitis b surface antibody ... | 2014 | 23933408 |
| insights into ancient leprosy and tuberculosis using metagenomics. | leprosy and tuberculosis were widespread in the past and remain significant diseases today. comparison of ancient and modern genomes of mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis gives insight into their evolution and a calibration of the timescale for observed changes. recently, whole genome sequencing has revealed genotypes and mixed-strain infections. | 2013 | 23932433 |
| leprous neuropathy. | leprous neuropathy, which is due to infection of nerve cells by mycobacterium leprae, still affects millions of people in many developing countries. the clinical and pathological manifestations are determined by the natural resistance of the host to invasion of m. leprae. failure of early detection of leprosy often leads to severe disability in spite of eradication of mycobacterium at a later date. in the lepromatous type, bacilli are easily found in the skin and in nerve cells including schwann ... | 2013 | 23931798 |
| the eradication of leprosy: molecular modeling techniques for novel drug discovery. | leprosy is a slowly progressing bacterial infection caused by mycobacterium leprae. the world health organization recommended multidrug therapy (mdt) which is extremely effective and halts the progress of the disease. even though the objective of eliminating leprosy as a public health problem has been achieved successfully, leprosy is not yet eradicated. furthermore, the long-term use of mdt results in single- and multidrug resistance. therefore, there is still a need for new drug discovery for ... | 2013 | 23924296 |
| cd4+cd25+ t regs with acetylated foxp3 are associated with immune suppression in human leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic human disease that results from infection of mycobacterium leprae. t reg cells have been shown to have important implications in various diseases. however, in leprosy, it is still unclear whether t regs can mediate immune suppression during progression of the disease. in the present study, we have proposed the putative mechanism leading to high proportion of t reg cells and investigated its significance in human leprosy. high levels of tgf-β followed by adaptation of foxp3(+ ... | 2013 | 23911408 |
| detection of mycobacterium leprae in saliva and the evaluation of oral sensitivity in patients with leprosy. | the aim of this study was to investigate sensitivity disorders in the oral cavity related to the presence of mycobacterium leprae in the saliva of treatment-naïve patients with leprosy in the state of amazonas, brazil. a cross-sectional study was conducted involving 45 subjects with leprosy. the subjects were interviewed to evaluate the sensitivity of the oral cavity. for the detection of m. leprae, saliva and slit-skin smear samples were collected. the samples were analysed using a bacteriologi ... | 2013 | 23903971 |
| characteristic mutations found in the ml0411 gene of mycobacterium leprae isolated in northeast asian countries. | genome analysis of mycobacterium leprae strain kyoto-2 in this study revealed characteristic nucleotide substitutions in gene ml0411, compared to the reference genome m. leprae strain tn. the ml0411 gene of kyoto-2 had six snps compared to that of tn. all snps in ml0411 were non-synonymous mutations that result in amino acid replacements. in addition, a seventh snp was found 41 bp upstream of the start codon in the regulatory region. the seven snp sites in the ml0411 region were investigated by ... | 2013 | 23892035 |
| gene set signature of reversal reaction type i in leprosy patients. | leprosy reversal reactions type 1 (t1r) are acute immune episodes that affect a subset of leprosy patients and remain a major cause of nerve damage. little is known about the relative importance of innate versus environmental factors in the pathogenesis of t1r. in a retrospective design, we evaluated innate differences in response to mycobacterium leprae between healthy individuals and former leprosy patients affected or free of t1r by analyzing the transcriptome response of whole blood to m. le ... | 2013 | 23874223 |
| anti-pgl1 salivary iga/igm, serum igg/igm, and nasal mycobacterium leprae dna in individuals with household contact with leprosy. | leprosy household contacts represent a group at high risk of developing the disease. the aim of this study was to detect mycobacterium leprae subclinical infection in this group through serological and molecular parameters. | 2013 | 23871279 |
| leprosy. an update: definition, pathogenesis, classification, diagnosis, and treatment. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by the bacillus mycobacterium leprae. it primarily affects the skin and peripheral nerves and is still endemic in various regions of the world. clinical presentation depends on the patient's immune status at the time of infection and during the course of the disease. leprosy is associated with disability and marginalization. diagnosis is clinical and is made when the patient has at least 1 of the following cardinal signs specified by the world he ... | 2013 | 23870850 |
| mapping of park2 and pacrg overlapping regulatory region reveals ld structure and functional variants in association with leprosy in unrelated indian population groups. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, where the host genetic background plays an important role toward the disease pathogenesis. various studies have identified a number of human genes in association with leprosy or its clinical forms. however, non-replication of results has hinted at the heterogeneity among associations between different population groups, which could be due to differently evolved ld structures and differential frequencies of snps within the st ... | 2013 | 23861666 |
| il-10 production from dendritic cells is associated with dc sign in human leprosy. | the defective antigen presenting ability of antigen presenting cells (apcs) modulates host cytokines and co-stimulatory signals that may lead to severity of leprosy. in the present study, we sought to evaluate the phenotypic features of apcs along with whether dc sign (dc-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-grabbing nonintegrin) influences il-10 production while moving from tuberculoid (bt/tt) to lepromatous (bl/ll) pole in leprosy pathogenesis. the study revealed an increased expression of ... | 2013 | 23816300 |
| gene expression profiling specifies chemokine, mitochondrial and lipid metabolism signatures in leprosy. | herein, we performed microarray experiments in schwann cells infected with live m. leprae and identified novel differentially expressed genes (deg) in m. leprae infected cells. also, we selected candidate genes associated or implicated with leprosy in genetic studies and biological experiments. forty-seven genes were selected for validation in two independent types of samples by multiplex qpcr. first, an in vitro model using thp-1 cells was infected with live mycobacterium leprae and m. bovis ba ... | 2013 | 23798993 |
| an in vitro model of mycobacterium leprae induced granuloma formation. | leprosy is a contagious and chronic systemic granulomatous disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. in the pathogenesis of leprosy, granulomas play a key role, however, the mechanisms of the formation and maintenance of m. leprae granulomas are still not clearly understood. | 2013 | 23782413 |
| nlrp1 haplotypes associated with leprosy in brazilian patients. | polymorphisms in innate immunity genes are known to be involved in the multifactorial susceptibility to mycobacterium leprae infection. m. leprae can downregulate il-1β secretion escaping monocyte digestion. the intracellular receptors nlrps (nacht, lrr and pyd domains-containing proteins) sense pathogen associated molecular patterns (pamps) activating caspase-1 and il-1β secretion in the context of inflammasome. considering the possible role of inflammasome in the immune response against m. lep ... | 2013 | 23770116 |
| genome-wide comparison of medieval and modern mycobacterium leprae. | leprosy was endemic in europe until the middle ages. using dna array capture, we have obtained genome sequences of mycobacterium leprae from skeletons of five medieval leprosy cases from the united kingdom, sweden, and denmark. in one case, the dna was so well preserved that full de novo assembly of the ancient bacterial genome could be achieved through shotgun sequencing alone. the ancient m. leprae sequences were compared with those of 11 modern strains, representing diverse genotypes and geog ... | 2013 | 23765279 |
| primary dapsone resistant mycobacterium leprae in a non endemic country. | 2013 | 23760326 | |
| biomarkers for leprosy: would you prefer t (cells)? | the need for rapid diagnostic tests that can be applied in non-expert settings may now be greater than ever before, due to changes in leprosy control programmes and the decrease in special expertise required for (early) diagnosis of leprosy. however, there is no test available that can detect asymptomatic mycobacterium leprae infection or predict progression of infection to clinical disease. the characteristics of the leprosy disease spectrum, in which both cellular and humoral immunity against ... | 2013 | 23741878 |
| active search for leprosy cases in midwestern brazil: a serological evaluation of asymptomatic household contacts before and after prophylaxis with bacillus calmette-guérin. | leprosy is a disease caused by mycobacterium leprae that carries a high risk of disability, making early diagnosis mandatory. this study aimed to determine the applicability of anti-pgl-1 igm antibody detection, using the ml flow technique, as an assistant tool for the detection of leprosy infection in asymptomatic household contacts (ahhc) of multibacillary leprosy index cases from midwest brazil. serological changes induced by the prophylaxis of these household contacts with bacillus calmette- ... | 2013 | 23740009 |
| [leprosy, a pillar of human genetics of infectious diseases]. | despite a natural reservoir of mycobacterium leprae limited to humans and free availability of an effective antibiotic treatment, more than 200,000 people develop leprosy each year. this disease remains a major cause of disability and social stigma worldwide. the cause of this constant incidence is currently unknown and indicates that important aspects of the complex relationship between the pathogen and its human host remain to be discovered. an important contribution of host genetics to suscep ... | 2013 | 23711949 |
| gerhard henrik armauer hansen (1841-1912)--100 years anniversary tribute. | 2012 marks the 100th year of death of gerhard henrik armauer hansen (1841-1912), who discovered mycobacterium leprae, but also gave the first systematic scientific work on the leprosy of the eye. the article reviews his life and scientific achievements with special regard to eye and ophthalmology. | 2014 | 23710612 |
| an attempt to improve pure neural leprosy diagnosis using immunohistochemistry tests in peripheral nerve biopsy specimens. | the diagnosis of pure neural leprosy (pnl) is based on clinical and laboratory data, including the histopathology of nerve biopsy specimens and detection of mycobacterium leprae dna by polymerase chain reaction (pcr). given that histopathologic examination and pcr methods may not be sufficient to confirm the diagnosis, immunolabeling of lipoarabinomanan (lam) and/or phenolic glycolipid 1 (pgl-1) m. leprae wall components was utilized in the present investigation in an attempt to detect any vesti ... | 2014 | 23702646 |
| lepromatous leprosy: a rare presentation in australia. | leprosy (hansen's disease) is caused by the obligate intracellular organism mycobacterium leprae. it is an infectious, chronic granulomatous disease transmitted through close contact. the latest current data shows that in 2010, eleven new cases of leprosy were reported to the national notifiable diseases surveillance system in australia. we report the case of a patient with untreated chronic lepromatous leprosy diagnosed in queensland, 2012. delay in diagnosis may have been due to the rarity of ... | 2013 | 23671461 |
| interaction of mycobacterium leprae with human airway epithelial cells: adherence, entry, survival, and identification of potential adhesins by surface proteome analysis. | this study examined the in vitro interaction between mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, and human alveolar and nasal epithelial cells, demonstrating that m. leprae can enter both cell types and that both are capable of sustaining bacterial survival. moreover, delivery of m. leprae to the nasal septum of mice resulted in macrophage and epithelial cell infection in the lung tissue, sustaining the idea that the airways constitute an important m. leprae entry route into the human ... | 2013 | 23670556 |
| detection and strain typing of ancient mycobacterium leprae from a medieval leprosy hospital. | nine burials excavated from the magdalen hill archaeological research project (mharp) in winchester, uk, showing skeletal signs of lepromatous leprosy (ll) have been studied using a multidisciplinary approach including osteological, geochemical and biomolecular techniques. dna from mycobacterium leprae was amplified from all nine skeletons but not from control skeletons devoid of indicative pathology. in several specimens we corroborated the identification of m. leprae with detection of mycolic ... | 2013 | 23638071 |
| nanobiotechnological approaches to delivery of dna vaccine against fungal infection. | vaccines play an essential role in keeping humans healthy. innovative approaches to their use include the utilization of plasmid dna encoding sequences to express foreign antigens. dnahsp65 from mycobacterium leprae is suitable for this purpose due to its ability to elicit a powerful immune response. controlled release systems represent a promising approach to delivering vaccines. in this work, we used liposomes or plga systems to deliver dnahsp65 to treat the pulmonary fungal infection paracocc ... | 2013 | 23627048 |
| influence of intron ii microsatellite polymorphism in human toll-like receptor 2 gene in leprosy. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by the obligate intracellular organism mycobacterium leprae. tlr2 plays a key role when activated by m. leprae lipoproteins initiating protective responses which induce bacterial killing and therefore control of disease spread. microsatellite polymorphisms in intron2 of tlr2 gene have been reported to be associated with development of clinical features of several infectious diseases. the study aims to evaluate the influence of gt microsatellite ... | 2013 | 23619473 |
| protective role of mycobacterium leprae small heat-shock protein in heterologous hosts, escherichia coli and mycobacterium smegmatis, grown under stress. | the aim of this study is to examine the in vivo role of a small heat-shock protein (shsp18) from mycobacterium leprae in the survival of heterologous recombinant hosts carrying the gene encoding this protein under different environmental conditions that are normally encountered by m. leprae during its infection of the human host. using an escherichia coli system where shsp18 expression is controlled by its native promoter, we show that expression of shsp18 is induced under low oxygen tension, nu ... | 2013 | 23579398 |
| deformities due to leprosy in children under fifteen years old as an indicator of quality of the leprosy control programme in brazilian municipalities. | the present study aims at analysing the degree of deformity in leprosy cases diagnosed in children under 15 years old and its relationship with operational and epidemiological factors. this epidemiological cross-sectional study was carried out at municipalities of three microregions in a brazilian hyperendemic area. data between 1998 and 2010 was collected from the information system for notifiable diseases database. the average coefficient of detection was 32.96/100.000 inhabitants; 7.61% of ne ... | 2013 | 23577038 |
| role of cd8(+) t cells in triggering reversal reaction in hiv/leprosy patients. | it has been reported that the initiation of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (haart) is associated with the development of reversal reaction (rr) in co-infected hiv/leprosy patients. nevertheless, the impact of hiv and haart on the cellular immune response to mycobacterium leprae (ml) remains unknown. in the present study, we observed that ex vivo peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) of both rr and rr/hiv patients presented increased percentages of activated cd4(+) t cells when compar ... | 2013 | 23566249 |
| leprosy and its dental management guidelines. | leprosy is a chronic, non-fatal disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. it can cause cutaneous lesions, peripheral nerve lesions and orofacial manifestations, including destruction of the alveolar premaxillary process associated with loss of the maxillary incisors. the aims of this study were to assess orofacial manifestations of disease in patients attending the bombay leprosy project clinics and develop clinical guidelines for dentists. | 2013 | 23550518 |
| toll-like receptor 1 n248s single-nucleotide polymorphism is associated with leprosy risk and regulates immune activation during mycobacterial infection. | conflicting findings about the association between leprosy and tlr1 variants n248s and i602s have been reported. here, we performed case-control and family based studies, followed by replication in 2 case-control populations from brazil, involving 3162 individuals. results indicated an association between tlr1 248s and leprosy in the case-control study (ss genotype odds ratio [or], 1.81; p = .004) and the family based study (z = 2.02; p = .05). this association was consistently replicated in oth ... | 2013 | 23547143 |
| challenges in immunodiagnostic tests for leprosy. | despite the effectiveness of multidrug therapy, leprosy still represents a significant global health problem: transmission of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) is not sufficiently reduced as witnessed by unwavering new case rates in leprosy-endemic countries. early detection of m. leprae infection (before clinical manifestations occur) is vital to reduction of transmission. current diagnosis relies on detection of clinical signs since there are no tests available to detect asymptomatic m. leprae ... | 2013 | 23537134 |
| active surveillance of hansen's disease (leprosy): importance for case finding among extra-domiciliary contacts. | hansen's disease (leprosy) remains an important health problem in brazil, where 34,894 new cases were diagnosed in 2010, corresponding to 15.3% of the world's new cases detected in that year. the purpose of this study was to use home visits as a tool for surveillance of hansen's disease in a hyperendemic area in brazil. a total of 258 residences were visited with 719 individuals examined. of these, 82 individuals had had a previous history of hansen's disease, 209 were their household contacts a ... | 2013 | 23516645 |
| clinicohistopathological concordance in leprosy - a clinical, histopathological and bacteriological study of 100 cases. | leprosy is a treatable chronic infectious disease, prevalent in south asian countries, especially india. before labeling a patient as a case of leprosy and starting multidrug treatment for particular type, the clinical findings should be correlated and confirmed with histopathological examination and bacteriological index of skin biopsy. skin biopsy is an important tool in diagnosing leprosy and determining the type of leprosy. in the present study, one hundred untreated clinically diagnosed cas ... | 2012 | 23484336 |
| histological diagnosis of early and suspicious leprosy by in situ pcr. | leprosy is a chronic mycobacterial disease whose diagnosis is primarily based on clinico-pathological examination and supported by slit skin smears for the presence of acid fast bacilli (afb). however, definitive diagnosis of early leprosy and those suspected to have the disease but not histologically confirmed pose major public health problems. the present study reports the utility of the in situ polymerase chain reaction amplification (pcr) directed at a 530bp fragment of dna encoding the 36kd ... | 2012 | 23484333 |
| transforming growth factor-β1 may be a key mediator of the fibrogenic properties of neural cells in leprosy. | fibrosis is the main cause of irreversible nerve damage in leprosy. phenotypic changes in mycobacterium leprae (ml)-infected schwann cells (scs) have been suggested to mediate this process. we found that sc line cultures stimulated with ml upregulated transforming growth factor-β1 (tgf-β1), and that tgf-β1 or ml induced increased numbers of α-smooth muscle actin (α-sma)-positive cells with characteristic stress fibers. mycobacterium leprae and tgf-β1 also induced increased type i collagen and fi ... | 2013 | 23481710 |
| leprosy--evolution of the path to eradication. | leprosy is among the world's oldest and most dreaded diseases and it has been synonymous with stigma and discrimination due to the hideous deformities it produced, mystery around its aetiology and transmission and lack of any effective remedy till recently. leprosy control started with the use of chaulmoogra oil and for the last three decades, multi drug therapy (mdt) has been our main tool against leprosy. in the last two decades, the reported global prevalence of active leprosy infection has d ... | 2013 | 23481049 |
| whole-blood nested-pcr amplification of m. leprae-specific dna for early diagnosis of leprosy. | we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a nested-polymerase chain reaction (pcr) method for detection of mycobacterium leprae dna from whole blood. whole-blood specimens were subjected to nested-pcr amplification of m. leprae repeat dna sequences in 49 multibacillary (mb) and 30 paucibacillary (pb) leprosy patients, 96 household contacts (hhcs), 18 tuberculosis (tb) patients, and 35 normal healthy individuals. m. leprae dna was detected in 95.92% (47/49) of mb, 70% (21/30) of pb, and 6.2 ... | 2013 | 23478578 |
| mycobacterium leprae is identified in the oral mucosa from paucibacillary and multibacillary leprosy patients. | in leprosy, the nasal mucosa is considered as the principal route of transmission for the bacillus mycobacterium leprae. the objective of this study was to identify m. leprae in the oral mucosa of 50 untreated leprosy patients, including 21 paucibacillary (pb) and 29 multibacillary (mb) patients, using immunohistochemistry (ihc), with antibodies against bacillus calmette-guérin (bcg) and phenolic glycolipid antigen-1 (pgl-1), and polymerase chain reaction (pcr), with mnth-specific primers for m. ... | 2014 | 23473290 |
| a comparison of stigma among patients with leprosy in rural tanzania and urban united states: a role for public health in dermatology. | leprosy is a chronic infection of the skin and peripheral nerves caused by the bacterium mycobacterium leprae, which causes peripheral insensitivity and disfigurements of the skin, limbs, and digits. social stigma is a common consequence of leprosy and may differ according to level of physical disfigurement and geographic location. the objective of this study was to assess social stigma encountered by patients with leprosy in clinical settings located in rural tanzania and urban usa and to compa ... | 2013 | 23451850 |
| type i interferon suppresses type ii interferon-triggered human anti-mycobacterial responses. | type i interferons (ifn-α and ifn-β) are important for protection against many viral infections, whereas type ii interferon (ifn-γ) is essential for host defense against some bacterial and parasitic pathogens. study of ifn responses in human leprosy revealed an inverse correlation between ifn-β and ifn-γ gene expression programs. ifn-γ and its downstream vitamin d-dependent antimicrobial genes were preferentially expressed in self-healing tuberculoid lesions and mediated antimicrobial activity a ... | 2013 | 23449998 |
| lsr2 of mycobacterium leprae and its synthetic peptides elicit restitution of t cell responses in erythema nodosum leprosum and reversal reactions in patients with lepromatous leprosy. | the lsr2 protein of mycobacterium leprae and its synthetic peptides have been shown to elicit lymphoproliferation and gamma interferon (ifn-γ) release by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (pbmcs) of patients with lepromatous leprosy (m. chaduvula, a. murtaza, n. misra, n. p. narayan, v. ramesh, h. k. prasad, r. rani, r. k. chinnadurai, i. nath, infect. immun. 80:742-752, 2012). pbmcs from 16 patients with lepromatous leprosy who were undergoing erythema nodosum leprosum (enl) (type 2) and 5 pat ... | 2013 | 23446220 |
| early revelation of leprosy in china by sequential antibody analyses with lid-1 and pgl-i. | leprosy is a disabling chronic infection, with insidious onset that often evades early detection. in order to detect new leprosy cases in a timely manner, we conducted surveillance visits in some difficult-to-reach mountain areas in south west china where the disease is still prevalent. our data confirm that chinese multibacillary (mb) leprosy patients have strong antibody responses against mycobacterium leprae antigens nd-o-bsa and lid-1. contacts of clinically diagnosed patients were then moni ... | 2013 | 23431316 |
| cellular microbiology: mycobacterium leprae turns back the clock. | 2013 | 23385722 | |
| cellular microbiology: mycobacterium leprae turns back the clock. | 2013 | 23377499 | |
| patient-related factors predicting the effectiveness of rifampicin chemoprophylaxis in contacts: 6 year follow up of the colep cohort in bangladesh. | the colep trial in bangladesh showed a 57% reduction in leprosy incidence among contacts of newly diagnosed patients in the first 2 years after chemoprophylaxis with single dose rifampicin (sdr). we assessed the impact of this intervention after 6 years and identified characteristics of the leprosy index patients predicting the effectiveness of this intervention. | 2012 | 23356030 |
| ofloxacin multicentre trial in mb leprosy fuam-manaus and ilsl-bauru, brazil. | recently antimicrobials of the fluoroquinolone class (pefloxacin and ofloxacin) were found far more effective against mycobacterium leprae in studies with both mice and patients than dapsone and clofazimine. as multicentre trial participants, we evaluated the therapeutic efficacy, in terms of rate of relapse, of two new multidrug regimens containing ofloxacin, comparing them to 1 year and 2 years of standard who-mdt regimen in multibacillary (mb) leprosy patients. a total of 198mb patients were ... | 2012 | 23356027 |
| identification of mimotopes of mycobacterium leprae as potential diagnostic reagents. | an early diagnostic test for detecting infection in leprosy is fundamental for reducing patients' sequelae. the currently used lepromin is not adequate for disease diagnosis and, so far, no antigen to be used in intradermoreaction has proved to be sensitive and specific for that purpose. aiming at identifying new reagents to be used in skin tests, candidate antigens were investigated. | 2013 | 23351151 |
| park2 mediates interleukin 6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 production by human macrophages. | leprosy is a persistent infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae that still affects over 200,000 new patients annually. the host genetic background is an important risk factor for leprosy susceptibility and the park2 gene is a replicated leprosy susceptibility candidate gene. the protein product of park2, parkin, is an e3 ubiquitin ligase that is involved in the development of various forms of parkinsonism. the human macrophage is both a natural host cell of m. leprae as well as a prima ... | 2013 | 23350010 |
| single nucleotide polymorphisms typing of mycobacterium leprae reveals focal transmission of leprosy in high endemic regions of india. | earlier studies indicate that genotyping of mycobaterium leprae based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) is useful for analysis of the global spread of leprosy. in the present study, we investigated the diversity of m. leprae at eight snp loci using 180 clinical isolates obtained from patients with leprosy residing mainly in delhi and purulia (west bengal) regions. it was observed that the frequency of snp type 1 and subtype d was most predominant in the indian population. further, the sn ... | 2013 | 23331718 |
| cohort study of the seasonal effect on nasal carriage and the presence of mycobacterium leprae in an endemic area in the general population. | leprosy continues to be a significant health problem in certain pockets in developing countries. better understanding of the transmission and source of the infection would help to decipher the transmission link, leading to control of the spread of the disease. the nose is considered to be a portal of entry, suggesting an aerial route for transmission through droplet infection. the evidence suggests that many individuals from endemic countries carry mycobacterium leprae in their nasal cavities wi ... | 2012 | 23331372 |
| hansen's disease with mccune-albright syndrome. | mccune-albright syndrome (mas) comprises a triad of fibrous dysplasia of bone, café-au-lait macule, and endocrinopathy. the disease is due to activating mutation of g protein-coupled receptor leading to hyperfunction of glands. hansen's disease is caused by infection with mycobacterium leprae and is seen with underlying immunosuppressed conditions in genetically predisposed individuals. we recently encountered a patient with hansen's disease along with underlying mas and report the same in this ... | 2012 | 23326081 |
| an unusual cause of mononeuritis multiplex. | a middle-aged man of south asian decent presented with a 4-month history of bilateral sensory disturbance affecting the median nerve distribution and dorsum of both feet. neurological examination was otherwise normal. a patchy absence of sensory responses was noted on nerve conduction studies and electromyogram (ncs/emg). over the next 3 months sensory symptoms progressed to involve median, radial, ulnar, sural and peroneal nerves bilaterally. repeat ncs/emg confirmed a mononeuritis multiplex pr ... | 2013 | 23315459 |
| synthesis of gatifloxacin derivatives and their biological activities against mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium tuberculosis. | novel 3'-piperazinyl derivatives of the 8-hydrogeno and 8-methoxy-6-fluoro-1-cyclopropyl-4-quinolone-3-carboxylic acid scaffolds were designed, synthesized and characterized by (1)h, (13)c and (19)f nmr, and hrms. the activity of these derivatives against pathogenic mycobacteria (m. leprae and m. tuberculosis), wild-type (wt) strains or strains harboring mutations implicated in quinolone resistance, were determined by measuring drug concentrations inhibiting cell growth (mic) and/or dna supercoi ... | 2012 | 23294829 |
| characterization of the msmeg_2631 gene (mmp) encoding a multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (mate) family protein in mycobacterium smegmatis and exploration of its polyspecific nature using biolog phenotype microarray. | in mycobacterium, multidrug efflux pumps can be associated with intrinsic drug resistance. comparison of putative mycobacterial transport genes revealed a single annotated open reading frame (orf) for a multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (mate) family efflux pump in all sequenced mycobacteria except mycobacterium leprae. since mate efflux pumps function as multidrug efflux pumps by conferring resistance to structurally diverse antibiotics and dna-damaging chemicals, we studied this gene (msm ... | 2013 | 23292779 |
| mycobacterium leprae in colombia described by snp7614 in gyra, two minisatellites and geography. | new cases of leprosy are still being detected in colombia after the country declared achievement of the who defined 'elimination' status. to study the ecology of leprosy in endemic regions, a combination of geographic and molecular tools were applied for a group of 201 multibacillary patients including six multi-case families from eleven departments. the location (latitude and longitude) of patient residences were mapped. slit skin smears and/or skin biopsies were collected and dna was extracted ... | 2013 | 23291420 |
| molecular, ethno-spatial epidemiology of leprosy in china: novel insights for tracing leprosy in endemic and non endemic provinces. | leprosy continues to be detected at near stable rates in china even with established control programs, necessitating new knowledge and alternative methods to interrupt transmission. a molecular epidemiology investigation of 190 patients was undertaken to define mycobacterium leprae strain types and discern genetic relationships and clusters in endemic and non-endemic regions spanning seventeen provinces and two autonomous regions. the findings support multiple locus variable number of tandem rep ... | 2013 | 23291419 |
| mycobacterium leprae in six-banded (euphractus sexcinctus) and nine-banded armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus) in northeast brazil. | human beings are the main reservoir of the causative agent of leprosy, mycobacterium leprae. in the americas, nine-banded armadillos (dasypus novemcinctus) also act as a reservoir for the bacillus. in the state of ceará (ce), which is located in northeast brazil and is an endemic area of leprosy, there are several species of armadillos, including d. novemcinctus and euphractus sexcinctus (six-banded armadillo). contact between humans and armadillos occur mainly through hunting, cleaning, prepari ... | 2012 | 23283473 |
| insights from animal models on the immunogenetics of leprosy: a review. | a variety of host immunogenetic factors appear to influence both an individual's susceptibility to infection with mycobacterium leprae and the pathologic course of the disease. animal models can contribute to a better understanding of the role of immunogenetics in leprosy through comparative studies helping to confirm the significance of various identified traits and in deciphering the underlying mechanisms that may be involved in expression of different disease related phenotypes. genetically e ... | 2012 | 23283472 |
| mycobacterial laminin-binding histone-like protein mediates collagen-dependent cytoadherence. | when grown in the presence of exogenous collagen i, mycobacterium bovis bcg was shown to form clumps. scanning electron microscopy examination of these clumps revealed the presence of collagen fibres cross-linking the bacilli. since collagen is a major constituent of the eukaryotic extracellular matrices, we assayed bcg cytoadherence in the presence of exogenous collagen i. collagen increased the interaction of the bacilli with a549 type ii pneumocytes or u937 macrophages, suggesting that bcg is ... | 2012 | 23283469 |