Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
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| immunogenicity of mycobacterium leprae unique antigens in leprosy endemic populations in asia and africa. | ongoing transmission of leprosy is evident from the stable disease incidence in high burden areas. tools for early detection of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) infection, particularly in sub-clinically infected individuals, are urgently required to reduce transmission. following the sequencing of the m. leprae genome, many m. leprae-unique candidate proteins have been identified, several of which have been tested for induction of m. leprae specific t cell responses in different leprosy endemic ... | 2011 | 22439283 |
| cytokine responses to mycobacterium leprae unique proteins differentiate between mycobacterium leprae infected and naive armadillos. | new diagnostic tools for early detection of leprosy are necessary to help reduce its transmission and severity. m. leprae unique proteins have been used to assess differences in human t-cell responses in leprosy patients, household contacts and endemic controls. in this study, we examined the response of m. leprae-infected armadillos to a variety of m. leprae recombinant antigen candidates currently being examined for diagnostic efficacy in humans. among recently m. leprae infected armadillos, i ... | 2011 | 22439281 |
| postgenomic mycobacterium leprae antigens for cellular and serological diagnosis of m. leprae exposure, infection and leprosy disease. | due to changes in leprosy control programs and the special expertise required for diagnosis, the need for simple rapid diagnostic tests that could be applied in non-expert settings may now be greater than ever before. since the sequencing of the m. leprae genome, many research groups have investigated the potential of m. leprae antigens in either serologic or cell mediated assays. here we provide an overview of the nearly 200 recombinant single proteins that were investigated during the last dec ... | 2011 | 22439280 |
| serological detection of leprosy employing mycobacterium leprae derived serine-rich 45 kda, esat-6, cfp-10 and pgl-i: a compilation of data from studies in indian populations. | this article is a compilation of our findings recorded in the recent past where we have investigated the serological performance of mycobacterium leprae antigens like-serine-rich 45 kda protein (45 kd), early secretary antigenic target-6 (esat-6), culture filtrate protein-10 (cfp-10) and phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) for detection (employing antibody detecting elisa) of leprosy patients, particularly those belonging to the paucibacillary (pb) group. all of these antigens were capable of detectin ... | 2011 | 22439278 |
| anti-pgl-i seroepidemiology in leprosy cases: household contacts and school children from a hyperendemic municipality of the brazilian amazon. | we investigated the prevalence of antibodies against pgl-i in people affected by leprosy (pal) who were diagnosed and treated between 2004 and 2010, their household contacts (hc) and school children (sc) from a hyperendemic municipality in the brazilian amazon, and determined the prevalence of previously undiagnosed leprosy (ppul) among both the hc and sc. | 2011 | 22439276 |
| the role of mycobacterium leprae phenolic glycolipid i (pgl-i) in serodiagnosis and in the pathogenesis of leprosy. | pgl-i (phenolic glycolipid i) emerged in the early 1980s on the one hand as part of intensive efforts to define the typing antigens of a host of mycobacterium spp. and also from characterisation of the lipids of skin biopsies from highly bacillary positive lepromatous leprosy patients. pgl-i, despite its extreme lipophilicity due to its inherent phthiocerol dimycocerosyl component, is highly antigenic evoking high titre igm antibodies in lepromatous leprosy patients, attributable largely to the ... | 2011 | 22439275 |
| [leprosy--today forgotten in croatia?]. | leprosy is an infectious skin disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, which predominantly affects the skin, peripheral nerves and mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity. in spite of today's efficient treatment, leprosy represents a public health problem in some countries of the world. it is estimated that 12 to 15 million patients are currently affected in the world. leprosy ravaged across europe, including croatia, for centuries, so this paper provides a few historical f ... | 2011 | 22359893 |
| the role of intracellular receptor nods for cytokine production by macrophages infected with mycobacterium leprae. | the nucleotide-oligomerization domain (nod) proteins are members of the nod-like receptor (nlr) family, which are intracellular and cytoplasmic receptors. we analyzed the role of nods for cytokine production by macrophages infected with intracellular pathogen m. leprae, the causative agent of leprosy. production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as il-1β and tnf-α was inhibited in the presence of cytochalasin d, an agent blocking phagocytosis, suggesting that intracellular signaling was, partia ... | 2011 | 22346786 |
| infectious diseases of khmer immigrants in the united states: review of published reports. | infectious diseases are influenced by where patients have lived or travelled in the past, e.g., infection with schistosoma mekongi can be acquired during freshwater contact in cambodia, but not in the united states. here the infectious diseases of khmer immigrants in the united states were studied by reviewing published reports. thirteen case series and 9 case reports of 5,222 patients were identified. most reports were of infections with gastrointestinal parasites (8, 36%), plasmnodium species ... | 2011 | 23272458 |
| use of the ml-flow test as a tool in classifying and treating leprosy. | the treatment of leprosy is defined by the classification of patients as paucibacillary (pb) or multibacillary (mb). the who (world health organization) classifies patients according to the number of lesions, but ridley-jopling (r & j) also uses complementary exams, which are difficult to use outside reference services. in 2003, a test called ml-flow, an alternative to elisa serology, was developed to help classify patients as pb or mb and decide about their treatment. | 2011 | 21437528 |
| molecular drug susceptibility testing and genotyping of mycobacterium leprae strains from south america. | possible drug resistance in mycobacterium leprae strains from venezuela and three other south american countries was surveyed by molecular methods. none of the 230 strains from new leprosy cases exhibited drug resistance-associated mutations. however, two of the three strains from relapsed cases contained dapsone resistance mutations, and one strain also harbored a rifampin resistance mutation. single nucleotide polymorphism analysis of these strains revealed five subtypes: 3i (73.8%), 4p (11.6% ... | 2011 | 21444694 |
| facial tuberculoid leprosy: case report. | leprosy is a chronic, infectious, systemic disease caused by mycobacterium leprae and is classified as paucibacillary and multibacillary types. it is contagious and has an insidious onset. clinical presentation is characterised by hypopigmented skin lesions with reduced sensation. presence of acid-fast bacilli in tissue specimens is regarded as a gold standard for diagnosis. treatment is based on multi-drug regimens. we report a case of borderline tuberculoid leprosy in a 31-year-old woman. | 2011 | 20188445 |
| editorial: lepromatous leprosy, lipids, and lessons in immunology: what we can learn by using modern methods to study an ancient disease. | 2010 | 20194162 | |
| large infiltrated erythematous and scaly plaque on the cheek and thickened earlobe. | 2010 | 20201669 | |
| histopathological changes in the arrector pili muscle of normal appearing skin in leprosy patients. | leprosy is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, which affects not only the peripheral nerves and skin, but also various internal viscera through hematogenous spread, especially in lepromatous cases. histology in its own way plays a vital role, not only in classifying the established lesion, but also in confirming the clinical diagnosis. during the latent period of subclinical involvement, the apparently normal looking skin might also be undergoing some pathological chan ... | 2010 | 20207571 |
| chronic rash associated with numbness. hansen disease (leprosy). | 2010 | 20148508 | |
| fine-needle aspiration may replace skin biopsy for the collection of material for experimental infection of mice with mycobacterium leprae and lacazia loboi. | procedures involving the use of mycobacterium leprae and lacazia loboi, uncultivated organisms, depend on the collection of material from the lesions of patients or experimental animals. this study compared fine-needle aspiration (fna) and skin biopsy methods for obtaining bacilli and fungal cells to experimentally infect animals. | 2010 | 20149978 |
| china. leprosy's last stand--or early days of a war of attrition? | 2010 | 20167759 | |
| [report of the tenth meeting of the who technical advisory group on leprosy control]. | the tenth meeting of the who technical advisory group (tag) on leprosy control was held in new delhi, india on 23rd april 2009. the meeting was chaired by professor wcs smith and attended by tag members, several experts, who secretariat, and members of the technical bodies of international leprosy association (ila) and the international federation of anti-leprosy associations (ilep) also attended the meeting. | 2010 | 20169983 |
| mycobacterial antigen(s) induce anergy by altering tcr- and tcr/cd28-induced signalling events: insights into t-cell unresponsiveness in leprosy. | present study investigates the role of mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae) antigens on tcr- and tcr/cd28-induced signalling leading to t-cell activation and further correlates these early biochemical events with t-cell anergy, as prevailed in advanced stages of leprosy. we observed that both whole cell lystae (wcl) and soluble fraction of m. leprae sonicate (mlsa) not only inhibited tcr, thapsigargin and ionomycin induced calcium fluxes by diminishing the opening of calcium channels, but also tcr- ... | 2010 | 20018378 |
| molecular epidemiology of mycobacterium leprae as determined by structure-neighbor clustering. | it has proven challenging to investigate the molecular epidemiology of mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, due to difficulties with culturing of the organism and a lack of genetic heterogeneity between strains. recently, a cost-effective panel of variable-number tandem-repeat (vntr) markers has been developed. use of this panel allows some of those limitations to be overcome and has allowed the genotyping of 475 m. leprae strains from six different countries. in the present rep ... | 2010 | 20351204 |
| leprotic cervical spondylodiscitis. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by the mycobacterium leprae that leads to leprotic neuropathy involving the peripheral nerve and several characteristic skin lesions. skeletal involvement can occur in peripheral joints, such as the wrist and the ankle. however, there is no report of an axial leprotic lesion involving the spine or paraspinal soft tissue. the authors report the first case of a leprotic cervical lesion involving the axial skeletal system. a 48-year-old male presented ... | 2010 | 20372941 |
| leprosy uveitis in the developing world. | 2010 | 20375865 | |
| neonatal bcg immunization followed by dnahsp65 boosters: highly immunogenic but not protective against tuberculosis - a paradoxical effect of the vector? | a new tuberculosis vaccine is urgently needed. prime-boost strategies are considered very promising and the inclusion of bcg is highly desirable. in this investigation, we tested the protective efficacy of bcg delivered in the neonatal period followed by boosters in the adult phase with a dna vaccine containing the hsp65 gene from mycobacterium leprae (pvaxhsp65). immune responses were characterized by serum anti-hsp65 antibody levels and ifn-gamma and il-5 production by the spleen. amounts of t ... | 2010 | 20384857 |
| genomewide association study of leprosy. | 2010 | 20393182 | |
| genomewide association study of leprosy. | 2010 | 20397291 | |
| genomewide association study of leprosy. | 2010 | 20397292 | |
| infection of mouse macrophages with viable mycobacterium leprae does not induce apoptosis. | the role played by apoptosis in host response to mycobacterium leprae is unclear. here, we studied in vitro induction of apoptosis in mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages infected with live and irradiated m. leprae, as a function of multiplicity of infection under permissive (33 degrees c) and nonpermissive (37 degrees c) temperatures. the infected macrophages were scored for apoptosis by using dapi (4',6-diamindino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride) and annexin v staining, along with activated ca ... | 2010 | 20402595 |
| immunization with pvaxhsp65 decreases inflammation and modulates immune response in experimental encephalomyelitis. | a dna vaccine (pvaxhsp65) containing the gene of a heat-shock protein (hsp65) from mycobacterium leprae showed high immunogenicity and protective efficacy against tuberculosis in balb/c mice. a possible deleterious effect related to autoimmunity needed to be tested because hsp65 is highly homologous to the correspondent mammalian protein. in this investigation we tested the effect of a previous immunization with dnahsp65 in the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (eae), a ra ... | 2010 | 20407280 |
| enhancing sensitivity of detection of immune responses to mycobacterium leprae peptides in whole-blood assays. | although worldwide leprosy prevalence has been reduced considerably following multidrug therapy, new case detection rates remain relatively stable, suggesting that transmission of infection still continues. this calls for new efforts, among which is development of assays that can identify subclinical/early-stage mycobacterium leprae-infected subjects, a likely source of transmission. areas in which leprosy is endemic often lack sophisticated laboratories, necessitating development of field-frien ... | 2010 | 20427628 |
| search for mycobacterium leprae in wild mammals. | leprosy is still a worldwide public health problem. brazil and india show the highest prevalence rates of the disease. natural infection of armadillos dasypus novemcinctus with mycobacterium leprae has been reported in some regions of the united states. identification of bacilli is difficult, particularly due to its inability to grow in vitro. the use of molecular tools represents a fast and sensitive alternative method for diagnosis of mycobacteriosis. in the present study, the diagnostic metho ... | 2010 | 20428654 |
| seropositivity to anti-phenolic glycolipid-i in leprosy cases, contacts and no known contacts of leprosy in an endemic and a non-endemic area in northeast brazil. | the seroprevalence rates of igm anti-phenolic glycolipid-i (pgl-i) antibodies in four study groups with differing exposure to mycobacterium leprae in ceará, brazil were investigated between march 2005 and august 2006. the first three groups in a high prevalence area included 144 cases of leprosy, their 380 contacts and 317 participants with no known leprosy contact. the fourth group in a low prevalence area consisted of 87 participants with no known leprosy contact living in an area in which no ... | 2010 | 20447668 |
| a modified synthesis and serological evaluation of neoglycoproteins containing the natural disaccharide of pgl-i from mycobacterium leprae. | in order to generate substantial amounts of neoglycoconjugate needed for commercialization of diagnostic kits and high-throughput detection of leprosy, we developed a facile and high-yield synthesis of the corresponding disaccharide. herein, the non-reducing disaccharide segment of phenolic glycolipid i from mycobacterium leprae, o-(3,6-di-o-methyl-beta-d-glucopyranosyl)-(1-->4)-o-2,3-di-o-methyl-alpha-l-rhamnopyranose was synthesized by an improved procedure. the disaccharide was efficiently co ... | 2010 | 20462755 |
| some unusual type 2 reactions in leprosy. | type 2 reactions with lepromatous leprosy (ll) not occurring during multi-drug therapy (mdt) have been reported. | 2010 | 20465641 |
| presence of intestinal helminths decreases t helper type 1 responses in tuberculoid leprosy patients and may increase the risk for multi-bacillary leprosy. | resistance to intracellular pathogens such as mycobacterium leprae is dependent upon an effective t helper type 1 (th1)-type immune response. on the other hand, intestinal helminths are known to subvert the host's immune response towards to either a th2-type immune response or a regulatory t cell up-regulation, which may affect the host's ability to mount an effective response to mycobacteria. here, we report a significant association between intestinal helminth infections and lepromatous lepros ... | 2010 | 20491787 |
| mycobacterium leprae induces insulin-like growth factor and promotes survival of schwann cells upon serum withdrawal. | peripheral nerve lesions are considered the most relevant symptoms of leprosy, a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae. the strategies employed by m. leprae to infect and multiply inside schwann cells (scs), however, remain poorly understood. in this study, it is shown that treatment of scs with m. leprae significantly decreased cell death induced by serum deprivation. not displayed by mycobacterium smegmatis or mycobacterium bovis bcg, the m. leprae survival effect was both ... | 2010 | 19732058 |
| leprosy: report of a case with severe peripheral neuropathy. | leprosy (hansen's disease) is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease, caused by mycobacterium leprae, with cutaneous and neurological manifestations. leprosy is very rare in europe but some cases are reported, especially among people coming from endemic areas. here, we report a case of hansen's disease and emphasize the importance of a prompt diagnosis and treatment also in non-endemic areas. | 2010 | 19812892 |
| mutational analysis of active-site residues in the mycobacterium leprae reca intein, a laglidadg homing endonuclease: asp(122) and asp(193) are crucial to the double-stranded dna cleavage activity whereas asp(218) is not. | mycobacterium leprae reca harbors an in-frame insertion sequence that encodes an intein homing endonuclease (pi-mlei). most inteins (intein endonucleases) possess two conserved laglidadg (dod) motifs at their active center. a common feature of laglidadg-type homing endonucleases is that they recognize and cleave the same or very similar dna sequences. however, pi-mlei is distinctive from other members of the family of laglidadg-type heases for its modular structure with functionally separable do ... | 2010 | 19937653 |
| lipid droplet formation in leprosy: toll-like receptor-regulated organelles involved in eicosanoid formation and mycobacterium leprae pathogenesis. | a hallmark of ll is the accumulation of virchow's foamy macrophages. however, the origin and nature of these lipids, as well as their function and contribution to leprosy disease, remain unclear. we herein show that macrophages present in ll dermal lesions are highly positive for adrp, suggesting that their foamy aspect is at least in part derived from ld (also known as lipid bodies) accumulation induced during ml infection. indeed, the capacity of ml to induce ld formation was confirmed in vivo ... | 2010 | 19952355 |
| plasma levels of chemokines during leprosy specific treatment. | leprosy, whose etiologic agent is mycobacterium leprae, is an illness of ample clinical and immunopathological spectrum. although chemokines seem to be involved in the immunopathogenesis of leprosis, few studies have been carried out to unveil the potential of chemokines as biological markers of the disease. the purpose of this study was to investigate the value of measuring ccl2, ccl3, ccl11 and ccl24 in plasma of patients with leprosy (le) at different stages of multi-drug therapy (mdt). chemo ... | 2010 | 19874796 |
| usage of signaling in neurodegeneration and regeneration of peripheral nerves by leprosy bacteria. | multiple signaling pathways play key regulatory roles during the development of peripheral nervous system (pns) and also in neuroregeneration process following nerve degeneration. schwann cells, the glial cells of the pns, by interacting with neuronal (axonal) ligands, mainly neuregulins via receptor tyrosine kinase (rtk) complex, erbb2/erbb3, initiate intracellular signaling pathways to drive proliferation and differentiation of schwann cells, both during development and the process of regenera ... | 2010 | 20005916 |
| high matrix metalloproteinase production correlates with immune activation and leukocyte migration in leprosy reactional lesions. | gelatinases a and b (matrix metalloproteinase 2 [mmp-2] and mmp-9, respectively) can induce basal membrane breakdown and leukocyte migration, but their role in leprosy skin inflammation remains unclear. in this study, we analyzed clinical specimens from leprosy patients taken from stable, untreated skin lesions and during reactional episodes (reversal reaction [rr] and erythema nodosum leprosum [enl]). the participation of mmps in disease was suggested by (i) increased mmp mrna expression levels ... | 2010 | 20008541 |
| schwann cells producing matrix metalloproteinases under mycobacterium leprae stimulation may play a role in the outcome of leprous neuropathy. | matrix metalloproteinases (mmps) mediate demyelination and breakdown of the blood-nerve barrier in peripheral neuropathies. matrix metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 gene expression and secretion were studied in cells of the human schwann cell line st88-14 stimulated with mycobacterium leprae and tumor necrosis factor (tnf) and in nerve biopsies from patients with neural leprosy (n = 21) and nonleprous controls (n = 3). mycobacterium leprae and tnf induced upregulatio ... | 2010 | 20010305 |
| rational design and evaluation of a multiepitope chimeric fusion protein with the potential for leprosy diagnosis. | despite the reduction in the number of leprosy cases registered worldwide as a result of the widespread use of multidrug therapy, the number of new cases detected each year remains stable in many countries. this indicates that mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, is still being transmitted and that, without an earlier diagnosis, transmission will continue and infection will remain a health problem. the current means of diagnosis of leprosy is based on the appearance of clinical ... | 2010 | 20016045 |
| genetic and functional analysis of common mrc1 exon 7 polymorphisms in leprosy susceptibility. | the chromosomal region 10p13 has been linked to paucibacillary leprosy in two independent studies. the mrc1 gene, encoding the human mannose receptor (mr), is located in the 10p13 region and non-synonymous snps in exon 7 of the gene have been suggested as leprosy susceptibility factors. we determined that g396s is the only non-synonymous exon 7-encoded polymorphism in 396 unrelated vietnamese subjects. this snp was genotyped in 490 simplex and 90 multiplex leprosy families comprising 704 patient ... | 2010 | 20035344 |
| abnormalities in intracellular processing and expression of interferon-gamma receptor in adherent cells from lepromatous leprosy patients. | peripheral blood mononuclear cells in lepromatous leprosy (ll) patients produce low levels of interferon-gamma (ifn-gamma) and interleukin-12 (il-12), and these cells exhibit partial or complete deficiency in the il-12 receptor. the behavior of the ifn-gamma receptor (ifn-gamma r) has not been described in cells from people with leprosy. we found higher levels of mrna for ifn-gamma r1 and ifn-gamma r2 in adherent cells stimulated with ifn-gamma and mycobacterium leprae membrane proteins from ll ... | 2010 | 20039824 |
| hsp65 dna as therapeutic strategy to treat experimental paracoccidioidomycosis. | the conventional treatment for paracoccidioidomycosis, the most prevalent mycosis in latin america, involves long periods of therapy resulting in sequels and high frequency of relapses. the search for new alternatives of treatment is necessary. previously, we have demonstrated that the hsp65 gene from mycobacterium leprae shows prophylactic effects against murine paracoccidioidomycosis. here, we tested the dnahsp65 immunotherapy in balb/c mice infected with paracoccidioides brasiliensis, the age ... | 2010 | 20045500 |
| presence of oral lesions in leprosy patients does not imply involvement by mycobacterium leprae. | 2010 | 20056461 | |
| the innate immune response in leprosy. | investigation into the innate immune response in leprosy has provided insight into immunoregulation in human infectious disease. key advances include the role of pattern recognition receptors in recognizing pathogen-associated molecular patterns of mycobacterium leprae, cytokine release by innate immune cells, macrophage and dendritic cell differentiation, as well as antimicrobial effector pathways. these insights provide targets for therapeutic intervention in modulating the course of leprosy a ... | 2010 | 20060279 |
| extraction and detection of mycobacterium leprae dna from zncf-stained skin smear slides for better identification of negative skin smears. | abstract identification of mycobacterium leprae, which causes leprosy, is done by ziehl neelsen carbol fuchsin (zncf) stained slit skin smear microscopy that aids in the diagnosis and quantification of approximate bacterial load carried by the patient. we attempted m. leprae dna extraction from 46 stained slit skin smear negative slides, using proteinase k and sds lysis, followed by ethanol precipitation. m. leprae specific primers (16srrna) were used for pcr-based amplification of dna. we could ... | 2010 | 20061767 |
| t regulatory cells and plasmocytoid dentritic cells in hansen disease: a new insight into pathogenesis? | leprosy is characterized by spectrum of histologically different granulomatous skin lesions that reflects the patient's immune response to mycobacterium leprae. presence, frequency, and distribution of both cd4+ cd25+ foxp3+ t regulatory cells (t-regs) and cd123+ plasmacytoid dendritic cells in leprosy have never been investigated. we performed a retrospective immunohistochemical study on 20 cases of leprosy [tuberculoid tuberculoid (tt): 1 patient; borderline tuberculoid (bt): 3 patients; borde ... | 2010 | 20075708 |
| stoichiometric protein complex formation and over-expression using the prokaryotic native operon structure. | in prokaryotes, operon encoded proteins often form protein-protein complexes. here, we show that the native structure of operons can be used to efficiently overexpress protein complexes. this study focuses on operons from mycobacteria and the use of mycobacterium smegmatis as an expression host. we demonstrate robust and correct stoichiometric expression of dimers to higher oligomers. the expression efficacy was found to be largely independent of the intergenic distances. the strategy was succes ... | 2010 | 20085764 |
| drug resistance in leprosy. | leprosy is caused by mycobacterium leprae. currently, leprosy control is mainly based on who-recommended multi-drug treatment; thus, emergence of drug resistance is a major concern. m. leprae isolates resistant to single and multiple drugs have been encountered. in this review, the history of chemotherapy and drug resistance in leprosy and molecular biological insights for drug resistance are described. new methodologies to test susceptibility to anti-leprosy drugs instead of the traditional mou ... | 2010 | 20093754 |
| mycobacterial esat-6 and katg are recognized by sarcoidosis cd4+ t cells when presented by the american sarcoidosis susceptibility allele, drb1*1101. | genetic associations of american sarcoidosis susceptibility implicate mhc class ii allele, drb1*1101. we previously reported immune recognition of mycobacterium peptides from peripheral cells of 26 sarcoidosis subjects, 24 ppd- healthy volunteers, and eight with latent tuberculosis infection. | 2010 | 19536643 |
| mycobacterium leprae actively modulates the cytokine response in naive human monocytes. | leprosy is a chronic but treatable infectious disease caused by the intracellular pathogen mycobacterium leprae. host immunity to m. leprae determines the diversity of clinical manifestations seen in patients, from tuberculoid leprosy with robust production of th1-type cytokines to lepromatous disease, characterized by elevated levels of th2-type cytokines and a suboptimal proinflammatory response. previous reports have indicated that m. leprae is a poor activator of macrophages and dendritic ce ... | 2010 | 19841079 |
| nitric oxide metabolites in sera of patients across the spectrum of leprosy. | leprosy, a chronic infectious disease, caused by mycobacterium leprae infection, manifests itself as a clinical spectrum depending on the patients' immunological response, finally leading to peripheral nerve damage and deformities in the patients. nitric oxide (no) which is known to contribute to pathogenesis of several neurological diseases has been detected in tissues and urine of leprosy patients. this is the first study assessing no as its stable end products, nitrites and nitrates, in sera ... | 2010 | 21449223 |
| leprosy. | the world health organization field leprosy classification is based on the number of skin lesions: paucibacillary leprosy (1-5 skin lesions), and multibacillary leprosy (more than 5 skin lesions). worldwide, about 250,000 new cases of leprosy are reported each year, and about 2 million people have leprosy-related disabilities. methods and outcomes: we conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: what are the effects of interventions to prevent leprosy? what ... | 2010 | 21418690 |
| evaluation of diagnostic role of in situ pcr on slit-skin smears in pediatric leprosy. | a large proportion of early cases of leprosy in children remain afb negative in skin smears. such cases required additional techniques to confirm the diagnosis. in situ pcr on slit- skin smears is minimally invasive and less cumbersome as compared to skin biopsies. this study was initiated in our institute with the objective to evaluate the diagnostic value of in situ pcr on slit- skin smears in pediatric leprosy. a total of 25 cases of leprosy below 16 years of age were included in the study. a ... | 2010 | 21434596 |
| study of cytokine response against panel of purified mycobacterium leprae antigens by using whole blood assay in subjects residing in a resettlement village of cured leprosy patients. | mycobacterium leprae being an intracellular pathogen, cell mediated immunity is very important in the clinical outcome of leprosy. manifestation of the disease is correlated with the level and type of cell mediated immune response. the main objective of this study was to analyse tnf-alpha and ifn-gamma production by t-cells when challenged with different m. leprae purified antigens in subjects with known exposure. 50 subjects residing in resettlement village of cured leprosy patients were includ ... | 2010 | 21229844 |
| [serological and cellular reactivity to mycobacterial proteins in hansen's disease]. | the study was designed for evaluating immunological reactivity to various mycobacterial protein preparations using serological and cell-mediated immunological tests in patients with clinical leprosy signs, predominantly, with the multibacillary forms. all patients were adults with ages between 20 and 30 years. fifty eight (n = 81) percent corresponded to lepromatous leprosy (ll), 29% (n = 41) to borderline lepromatous leprosy (bl) and 10% (n = 41) to borderline borderline leprosy (bb); only 3% w ... | 2010 | 21305770 |
| health care utilisation in indian leprosy patients in the era of elimination. | the health care utilisation pattern among indian leprosy patients accessing a tertiary care centre over an 18 month period was studied. | 2010 | 21313975 |
| analysis of antibody responses to mycobacterium leprae phenolic glycolipid i, lipoarabinomannan, and recombinant proteins to define disease subtype-specific antigenic profiles in leprosy. | a simple serodiagnostic test based on the mycobacterium leprae-specific phenolic glycolipid i(pgl-i), for individuals with leprosy is nearly universally positive in leprosy patients with high bacillary loads but cannot be used as a stand-alone diagnostic test for the entire spectrum of the disease process. for patients with early infection with no detectable acid-fast bacilli in lesions or with low or no antibody titer to pgl-i, as in those at the tuberculoid end of the disease spectrum, this di ... | 2010 | 21177913 |
| insight toward early diagnosis of leprosy through analysis of the developing antibody responses of mycobacterium leprae-infected armadillos. | leprosy is a debilitating chronic disease caused by infection with mycobacterium leprae. a world health organization-directed control strategy based upon the identification and treatment of patients has resulted in a marked reduction in the number of registered worldwide leprosy cases over the last 20 years. despite these efforts, the number of new leprosy cases detected each year now remains relatively stable, and m. leprae infection continues to pose a health problem. it is suggested that earl ... | 2010 | 21177914 |
| oral mucosa as a source of mycobacterium leprae infection and transmission, and implications of bacterial dna detection and the immunological status. | clin microbiol infect abstract: leprosy is an important health problem in brazil despite extensive use of multidrug therapy. the nasal mucosa is the preferential site of entry and exit of mycobacterium leprae, and although lesions have been found in the oral mucosa, its potential involvement in the transmission of leprosy bacilli has never been investigated. we investigated the presence of the m. leprae dna in buccal swabs of leprosy patients (334) and household contacts (1288) through polymeras ... | 2010 | 21199152 |
| granulomatous reactivation during the course of a leprosy infection: reaction or relapse. | leprosy is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease and is still endemic in many parts of the world. it causes disabilities which are the consequence of nerve damage. this damage is in most cases the result of immunological reactions. | 2010 | 21200422 |
| armadillo meat intake was not associated with leprosy in a case control study, curitiba (brazil). | leprosy's progression and its maintained endemic status, despite the availability of effective treatments, are not fully understood and recent studies have highlighted the possibility of involved mycobacterium leprae ambient reservoirs. wild armadillos can carry leprosy and, because their meat is eaten by humans, development of the disease among armadillo meat consumers has been investigated. this study evaluated the frequency of armadillo meat intake among leprosy patients as well as age and ge ... | 2010 | 21120353 |
| transmission of leprosy in qiubei county, yunnan, china: insights from an 8-year molecular epidemiology investigation. | leprosy continues to be endemic in parts of china. to track the occurrence of leprosy and determine at risk communities, molecular strain typing based on variable number of tandem repeats (vntrs) was applied in qiubei county, wenshan prefecture, yunnan province of the people's republic of china, a multiethnic region that is home to four predominant ethnic minorities. a previous study, conducted between 2002 and 2005, provided the first descriptions of mycobacterium leprae strains in the region. ... | 2010 | 21129505 |
| a subunit vaccine based on biodegradable microspheres carrying rhsp65 protein and klk protects balb/c mice against tuberculosis infection. | of the hundreds of new tuberculosis (tb) vaccine candidates, some have therapeutic value in addition to their prophylactic properties. this is the case for the dna vaccine encoding heat-shock protein 65 (dnahsp65) from mycobacterium leprae. however, there are concerns about the use of dna vaccines in certain populations such as newborns and pregnant women. thus, the optimization of vaccination strategies that circumvent this limitation is a priority. this study evaluated the efficacy of a single ... | 2010 | 21157178 |
| immunostimulatory activity of major membrane protein ii from mycobacterium tuberculosis. | previously, we observed that both major membrane protein ii of mycobacterium leprae (mmp-ml) and its fusion with m. bovis bcg (bcg)-derived heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) (fusion-ml) are immunogenic and that recombinant bcg secreting either of these proteins effectively inhibits the multiplication of m. leprae in mice. here, we purified m. tuberculosis-derived major membrane protein ii (mmp-mtb) and its fusion with hsp70 (fusion-mtb) in a lipopolysaccharide-free condition and evaluated their immu ... | 2010 | 21159924 |
| seyes - support system for preventing the development of ocular disabilities in leprosy. | leprosy is an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, and generally compromises neural fibers, leading to the development of disabilities. these limit daily activities or social life. in leprosy, the study of disability considered functional (physical) and activity limitations; and social participation. these are measured respectively by ehf and salsa scales; by and participation scale: the objective of this work was to propose a support system, seyes, to eyes disabilities development ... | 2010 | 21097149 |
| whole-genome expression analysis of mycobacterium leprae and its clinical application. | the whole-genome sequence analysis of mycobacterium leprae, which was completed in 2001, revealed the characteristics of this microbe's genomic structure. half of the m. leprae genome consists of a limited number of protein-coding genes and the rest comprises non-coding regions and pseudogenes. we performed membrane array and tiling array analyses to analyze the gene-expression profile of the m. leprae genome and found that pseudogenes and non-coding regions were expressed similarly to coding re ... | 2010 | 21099087 |
| possible mode of emergence for drug-resistant leprosy is revealed by an analysis of samples from mexico. | mexico is a country with sporadic leprosy cases, and the reemergence of drug resistance is a concern. in this study, molecular analysis of mycobacterium leprae was employed to clarify the spread of drug-resistant leprosy. thus, drug resistance-determining regions in the folp1, rpob, and gyra genes, which are associated with resistance to dapsone, rifampicin, and ofloxacin, respectively, were analyzed by direct sequencing of the pcr product. no mutations in the folp1 gene were observed in any of ... | 2010 | 21099091 |
| mutation analysis of the mycobacterium leprae folp1 gene and dapsone resistance. | diaminodiphenylsulfone (dapsone) has long been used as a first-line drug worldwide for the treatment of leprosy. diagnosis for dapsone resistance of mycobacterium leprae by dna tests would be of great clinical value, but the relationship between the nucleotide substitutions and susceptibility to dapsone must be clarified before use. in this study, we constructed recombinant strains of cultivable mycobacterium smegmatis carrying the m. leprae folp1 gene with or without a point mutation, disruptin ... | 2010 | 21115799 |
| leprosy and the human genome. | despite the availability of effective treatment for several decades, leprosy remains an important medical problem in many regions of the world. infection with mycobacterium leprae can produce paucibacillary disease, characterized by well-formed granulomas and a th1 t-cell response, or multibacillary disease, characterized by poorly organized cellular infiltrates and th2 cytokines. these diametric immune responses confer states of relative resistance or susceptibility to leprosy, respectively, an ... | 2010 | 21119019 |
| interleukin-4 regulates the expression of cd209 and subsequent uptake of mycobacterium leprae by schwann cells in human leprosy. | the ability of microbial pathogens to target specific cell types is a key aspect of the pathogenesis of infectious disease. mycobacterium leprae, by infecting schwann cells, contributes to nerve injury in patients with leprosy. here, we investigated mechanisms of host-pathogen interaction in the peripheral nerve lesions of leprosy. we found that the expression of the c-type lectin, cd209, known to be expressed on tissue macrophages and to mediate the uptake of m. leprae, was present on schwann c ... | 2010 | 20713631 |
| ifng +874 t>a single nucleotide polymorphism is associated with leprosy among brazilians. | leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, a low virulence mycobacterium, and the outcome of disease is dependent on the host genetics for either susceptibility per se or severity. the ifng gene codes for interferon-γ (ifn-γ), a cytokine that plays a key role in host defense against intracellular pathogens. indeed, single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) in ifng have been evaluated in several genetic epidemiological studies, and the snp +874t>a, the +874t allele, more ... | 2010 | 20714752 |
| arthritis in leprosy. | leprosy, a chronic granulomatous infection caused by mycobacterium leprae, classically presents with cutaneous and neurological manifestations. musculoskeletal involvement though third most common is underdiagnosed and underreported. it may manifest in the form of charcot's arthropathy, acute symmetrical polyarthritis or swollen hands and feet syndrome during lepra reactions, insidious-onset chronic symmetrical polyarthritis mimicking ra or as isolated tenosynovitis or tenosynovitis associated w ... | 2010 | 20724432 |
| involvement of 9-o-acetyl gd3 ganglioside in mycobacterium leprae infection of schwann cells. | mycobacterium leprae (ml), the etiologic agent of leprosy, mainly affects the skin and peripheral nerves, leading to demyelization and loss of axonal conductance. schwann cells (scs) are the main cell population infected by ml in the nerves, and infection triggers changes in the sc phenotype from a myelinated to a nonmyelinated state. in the present study, we show that expression of 9-o-acetyl gd3, a ganglioside involved in cellular anti-apoptotic signaling and nerve regeneration, increases in s ... | 2010 | 20739294 |
| rhomboid homologs in mycobacteria: insights from phylogeny and genomic analysis. | rhomboids are ubiquitous proteins with diverse functions in all life kingdoms, and are emerging as important factors in the biology of some pathogenic apicomplexa and providencia stuartii. although prokaryotic genomes contain one rhomboid, actinobacteria can have two or more copies whose sequences have not been analyzed for the presence putative rhomboid catalytic signatures. we report detailed phylogenetic and genomic analyses devoted to prokaryotic rhomboids of an important genus, mycobacteriu ... | 2010 | 21029479 |
| atp synthase in slow- and fast-growing mycobacteria is active in atp synthesis and blocked in atp hydrolysis direction. | atp synthase is a validated drug target for the treatment of tuberculosis, and atp synthase inhibitors are promising candidate drugs for the treatment of infections caused by other slow-growing mycobacteria, such as mycobacterium leprae and mycobacterium ulcerans. atp synthase is an essential enzyme in the energy metabolism of mycobacterium tuberculosis; however, no biochemical data are available to characterize the role of atp synthase in slow-growing mycobacterial strains. here, we show that i ... | 2010 | 21039782 |
| the pseudogenes of mycobacterium leprae reveal the functional relevance of gene order within operons. | almost 50 years following the discovery of the prokaryotic operon, the functional relevance of gene order within operons remains unclear. in this work, we take advantage of the eroded genome of mycobacterium leprae to add evidence supporting the notion that functionally less important genes have a tendency to be located at the end of its operons. m. leprae's genome includes 1133 pseudogenes and 1614 protein-coding genes and can be compared with the close genome of m. tuberculosis. assuming m. le ... | 2010 | 21051341 |
| a potential role for complement in immune evasion by mycobacterium leprae. | lepromatous leprosy is a model of immune evasion wherein pathogen-specific il-10-secreting t cells and concomitant failure of th-1 immunity permit uncontrolled proliferation of the intracellular pathogen, mycobacterium leprae (m. leprae). the mechanism of this immune escape is unknown. here, the authors report that phenolic glycolipid-1 (pgl-1), a major and distinguishing feature of the m. leprae cell wall, is expressed in the cell membrane of m. leprae-infected human dendritic cells, where it c ... | 2010 | 21061760 |
| leprosy and hiv, where are we at? | the impact of leprosy and hiv co-infection is an evolving picture. surprisingly the outcomes that were feared, of more lepromatous disease has not materialised. but with the roll-out of antiretroviral therapy, the emergence of leprosy as immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome is re-focusing attention on the characteristics of this important co-infection. | 2010 | 21067057 |
| a big challenge in case finding at low endemic situation: analysis on 1462 new leprosy patients detected in china in 2007. | to understand the characteristics of newly detected leprosy patients at low endemic situation in china in order to provide information for better leprosy control. | 2010 | 21067058 |
| hand atrophy in a leprosy patient--treatment with polymethylmethacrylate. | leprosy, an infectious disease caused by mycobacterium leprae, affects mostly the skin and peripheral nerves. the polymethylmethacrylate has been used as bone cement, knee and intraocular implants as a bioexpansor, filling the area where it is applied. we describe the case of a brazilian male with tuberculoid leprosy who developed muscular wasting between the metacarpals of both hands. ten years after leprosy treatment, he was submitted to five applications of 10% polymethylmethacrylate. the tre ... | 2010 | 21067062 |
| histoid leprosy in an hiv positive patient taking cart. | 2010 | 21067063 | |
| amino acid sequence of b-cell epitope of n-terminal region of esat-6 mycobacterium leprae role as specific antigen for diagnosis of leprosy. | the objective of this study was to find a specific b-cell epitope of n-terminal region of antigen l-esat-6 from leprosy patients, healthy individuals and healthy nurses working for more than 10 years in the leprosy ward of dr. a. rivai abdullah leprosy hospital, palembang, indonesia. fifty subjects were enrolled in this study, comprising 10 subjects with ll type leprosy, 10 subjects with bb type leprosy, 10 subjects with tt type leprosy, 10 healthy nurses from leprosy ward and 10 healthy individ ... | 2010 | 21073037 |
| clinic-epidemiological evaluation of ulcers in patients with leprosy sequelae and the effect of low level laser therapy on wound healing: a randomized clinical trial. | mycobacterium leprae is the only pathogenic bacteria able to infect peripheral nerves. neural impairment results in a set of sensitive, motor and autonomic disturbances, with ulcers originating primarily on the hands and feet. the study objectives were to analyze the clinic-epidemiological characteristics of patients attended at one specialized dressing service from a leprosy-endemic region of the brazilian amazon and to evaluate the effect of low level laser therapy (lllt) on wound healing of t ... | 2010 | 20698989 |
| learning from leprosy: insight into the human innate immune response. | investigation into the innate immune response in leprosy has provided insight into host defense and immunopathology in human infectious disease. a key advance has been the delineation of pattern recognition receptors that detect pathogen-associated molecular patterns of the bacterium that causes leprosy, mycobacterium leprae. from this knowledge, it has been possible to determine the cytokine responses as well as macrophage and dendritic cell differentiation programs that contribute to host defe ... | 2010 | 20510728 |
| [hansen's disease, social conditions, and deforestation in the brazilian amazon]. | to analyze the association between social and environmental indicators and the hansen's disease new case detection rate (hncdr) in the brazilian amazon. | 2010 | 20512229 |
| the effect of corticosteroids usage on bacterial killing, clearance and nerve damage in leprosy; part 3--study of two comparable groups of 100 multibacillary (mb) patients each, treated with mdt + steroids vs. mdt alone, assessed at 6 months post-release from 12 months mdt. | to investigate effects of therapeutic usage of corticosteroids on m. leprae killing and clearance, on clearance of granuloma and on nerve damage in multibacillary (mb) leprosy patients. | 2010 | 20496569 |
| multifunctional cd4(+) t cells correlate with active mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. | th1 cd4(+) t cells and their derived cytokines are crucial for protection against mycobacterium tuberculosis. using multiparametric flow cytometry, we have evaluated the distribution of seven distinct functional states (ifn-γ/il-2/tnf-α triple expressors, ifn-γ/il-2, ifn-γ/tnf-α or tnf-α/il-2 double expressors or ifn-γ, il-2 or tnf-α single expressors) of cd4(+) t cells in individuals with latent m. tuberculosis infection (ltbi) and active tuberculosis (tb). we found that triple expressors, whil ... | 2010 | 20540114 |
| analysis of mycobacterium leprae gene expression using dna microarray. | mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, does not grow under in vitro condition, making molecular analysis of this bacterium difficult. for this reason, bacteriological information regarding m. leprae gene function is limited compared with other mycobacterium species. in this study, we performed dna microarray analysis to clarify the rna expression profile of the thai53 strain of m. leprae grown in footpads of hypertensive nude rats (shr/ncrj-rnu). of 1605 m. leprae genes, 315 showe ... | 2010 | 20553838 |
| a role for interleukin-5 in promoting increased immunoglobulin m at the site of disease in leprosy. | leprosy is an infectious disease in which the clinical manifestations correlate with the type of immune response mounted to the pathogen, mycobacterium leprae. to investigate which biological pathways or gene sets are over-represented in lepromatous (l-lep) versus tuberculoid (t-lep) patients that might be relevant in disease pathogenesis, we compared the gene expression profiles of l-lep versus t-lep skin lesions using knowledge-guided bioinformatic analysis, incorporating data on likely biolog ... | 2010 | 20561085 |
| nramp1/slc11a1 gene polymorphisms and host susceptibility to mycobacterium tuberculosis and m. leprae in south sulawesi, indonesia. | genetic host factor may play an important role in controlling mycobacterial infections such as tuberculosis and leprosy. natural resistance associated macrophage protein1 (nramp1, alias slc11a1) gene has been suggested to an associated gene of the host susceptibility to mycobacterium infection. to determine the association of nramp1/slc11a1 with tuberculosis and leprosy, we analyzed using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphisms three variants (d543n, 3'utr and int4) o ... | 2010 | 20578522 |
| recent advances in leprosy and buruli ulcer (mycobacterium ulcerans infection). | after tuberculosis, leprosy (mycobacterium leprae) and buruli ulcer (m. ulcerans infection) are the second and third most common mycobacterial infections in humankind, respectively. recent advances in both diseases are summarized. | 2010 | 20581668 |
| leprosy and the adaptation of human toll-like receptor 1. | leprosy is an infectious disease caused by the obligate intracellular pathogen mycobacterium leprae and remains endemic in many parts of the world. despite several major studies on susceptibility to leprosy, few genomic loci have been replicated independently. we have conducted an association analysis of more than 1,500 individuals from different case-control and family studies, and observed consistent associations between genetic variants in both tlr1 and the hla-drb1/dqa1 regions with suscepti ... | 2010 | 20617178 |
| evaluation of 85 a-c intergenic region pcr primers for detection of mycobacterium leprae dna in urine samples. | 2010 | 20618483 | |
| correlation between elisa and ml flow assays applied to 60 brazilian patients affected by leprosy. | serological tests can be helpful in classifying leprosy patients as having either the paucibacillary or the multibacillary form. the aim of this study was to evaluate the concordance between two serological assays, i.e. ml flow and elisa, in a population of leprosy patients in brazil. the investigation involved 60 patients with newly diagnosed leprosy. together with the application of the serological assays, selected demographic, clinical and epidemiological data relating to the study population ... | 2010 | 20621218 |
| infection during infancy and long incubation period of leprosy suggested in a case of a chimpanzee used for medical research. | the length of the incubation period of leprosy following mycobacterium leprae infection has never been conclusively determined, owing to the lack of a method to demonstrate the presence of an asymptomatic infection. we report a rare case of leprosy in a chimpanzee in which a 30-year incubation period was strongly suggested by single nucleotide polymorphism (snp) analysis. | 2010 | 20631101 |