Search results for "Mycobacterium leprae"

Mycobacterial antigen(s) induce anergy by altering TCR- and TCR/CD28-induced signalling events: insights into T-cell unresponsiveness in leprosy.

2009

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- or TCR/CD28-induced proximal signalling events like phosphorylation of Zap-70 and protein kinase-C (PKC) activity. Study of TCR- and TCR/CD28-induced downstream signals revealed that M. leprae antige…

Interleukin-15 in mycobacterial infection of antigen-presenting cells.

1999

Interleukin-15 (IL-15) shares many biological functions with IL-2 but also exhibits unique effects. Some of these represent the potent chemoattractant activity and expansion of distinct T-cell subsets, particularly memory T cells. IL-15 may therefore modulate the quality and quantity of cellular immune responses directed against intracellular pathogens. Immunohistochemical examination of skin lesions obtained from patients with the lepromatous or the tuberculoid form of Hansen's disease revealed intralesional IL-15 protein in both forms of the disease. In addition to Mycobacterium leprae, a number of different mycobacterial species are capable of effectively inducing IL-15 secretion in infe…

On the Age of Leprosy

2014

Leprosy is a chronic infection of the skin and nerves caused by Mycobacterium leprae and the newly discovered Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Human leprosy has been documented for millennia in ancient cultures. Recent genomic studies of worldwide M. leprae strains have further traced it along global human dispersals during the past ∼ 100,000 years. Because leprosy bacilli are strictly intracellular, we wonder how long humans have been affected by this disease-causing parasite. Based on recently published data on M. leprae genomes, M. lepromatosis discovery, leprosy bacilli evolution, and human evolution, it is most likely that the leprosy bacilli started parasitic evolution in humans or early h…

Phenolic-glycolipid-1 and lipoarabinomannan preferentially modulate TCR- and CD28-triggered proximal biochemical events, leading to T-cell unresponsi…

2012

Abstract Background Advanced stages of leprosy show T cell unresponsiveness and lipids of mycobacterial origin are speculated to modulate immune responses in these patients. Present study elucidates the role of phenolicglycolipid (PGL-1) and Mannose-capped lipoarabinomannan (Man-LAM) on TCR- and TCR/CD28- mediated signalling. Results We observed that lipid antigens significantly inhibit proximal early signalling events like Zap-70 phosphorylation and calcium mobilization. Interestingly, these antigens preferentially curtailed TCR-triggered early downstream signalling events like p38 phosphorylation whereas potentiated that of Erk1/2. Further, at later stages inhibition of NFAT binding, IL-2…

Leprosy: report of a case with severe peripheral neuropathy

2009

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.

Reconstructing the ancestor of Mycobacterium leprae: The dynamics of gene loss and genome reduction

2007

We have reconstructed the gene content and order of the last common ancestor of the human pathogens Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. During the reductive evolution of M. leprae, 1537 of 2977 ancestral genes were lost, among which we found 177 previously unnoticed pseudogenes. We find evidence that a massive gene inactivation took place very recently in the M. leprae lineage, leading to the loss of hundreds of ancestral genes. A large proportion of their nucleotide content (∼89%) still remains in the genome, which allowed us to characterize and date them. The age of the pseudogenes was computed using a new methodology based on the rates and patterns of substitution in the…

Spatiotemporal mapping of the leprosy granuloma landscape

2022

Lepromatous leprosy : a review and case report

2006

Podeu consultar la versió en castellà a http://hdl.handle.net/2445/117327

Comparative Sequence Analysis ofMycobacterium lepraeand the New Leprosy-CausingMycobacterium lepromatosis

2009

ABSTRACTMycobacterium lepromatosisis a newly discovered leprosy-causing organism. Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of its 16S rRNA gene and a few other gene segments revealed significant divergence fromMycobacterium leprae, a well-known cause of leprosy, that justifies the status ofM. lepromatosisas a new species. In this study we analyzed the sequences of 20 genes and pseudogenes (22,814 nucleotides). Overall, the level of matching of these sequences withM. lepraesequences was 90.9%, which substantiated the species-level difference; the levels of matching for the 16S rRNA genes and 14 protein-encoding genes were 98.0% and 93.1%, respectively, but the level of matching for five pseudogenes…