RESUMEN
Human phagocyte-specific chitotriosidase is associated with several diseases involving macrophage activation. Since macrophage activation plays an important role in the control of Mycobacterium leprae infection, we studied the association of chitotriosidase with leprosy both in serum and in situ in lesional skin biopsies from patients. Serum samples from 78 Indonesian leprosy patients (39 non-reactional and 39 reactional leprosy patients) and 36 healthy controls (HC) from the same endemic region were investigated. The patients were classified as multibacillary (MB, n=69) or paucibacillary (PB, n=9) based on the bacterial index in slit-skin smears. Thirty-six of the reactional patients had erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), while only 3 had reversal reaction (RR). Follow-up serum samples after corticosteroid treatment were also obtained from 17 patients with ENL and one with RR. Multibacillary (MB) patients showed increased chitotriosidase activity in serum as compared to paucibacillary (PB) patients and healthy controls. Although no significant difference was observed between reactional and the corresponding non-reactional groups, ENL showed significantly higher chitotriosidase activity as compared to HC. Furthermore, corticosteroid treatment resulted in significant decline of enzyme activity in ENL sera. Chitotriosidase activity correlated with levels of neopterin, another macrophage activation marker, but not with IL-6, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and IL-10. Immunohistochemical staining of 6 MB (LL=5, BL=1) lesional skin sections from stored material showed positive staining for chitotriosidase within lipid-laden macrophages suggesting that macrophages are the source of the enzyme detected in serum. Thus, serum chitotriosidase activity is potentially useful in distinguishing MB from PB leprosy and in monitoring response to therapy in ENL.
Asunto(s)
Humanos , Masculino , Femenino , Adolescente , Adulto , Persona de Mediana Edad , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Adulto Joven , Piel/microbiología , Piel/patología , Monocitos/microbiología , Biomarcadores/sangre , Lepra Lepromatosa/diagnóstico , Lepra Lepromatosa/tratamiento farmacológico , Lepra Lepromatosa/sangre , Células Cultivadas , Citocinas/sangre , Monitoreo de Drogas , Corticoesteroides/uso terapéutico , Neopterin/sangre , Eritema Nudoso/tratamiento farmacológico , Eritema Nudoso/sangre , Hexosaminidasas/sangreRESUMEN
We conducted a population-based survey on five small islands in South Sulawesi Province (Indonesia) to collect baseline data previous to a chemoprophylactic intervention study aiming at interrupting the transmission of Mycobacterium leprae. Here we describe the present leprosy epidemiology on these geographically isolated islands. Of the 4774 inhabitants living in the study area 4140 were screened for leprosy (coverage: 87 per cent). We identified 96 leprosy patients (85 new and 11 old patients), representing a new case detection rate (CDR) of 205/10 000 and a prevalence rate of 195/10 000. CDRs were similar for males and females. Male patients were more often classified as multibacillary (MB) than women. Of the new patients, 33 (39 per cent) were classified as MB, 16 (19 per cent) as paucibacillary (PB) 2-5 lesions and 36 (42 per cent) as PB single lesion. In this area of high leprosy endemicity leprosy patients were extensively clustered, i.e. not equally distributed among the islands and within the islands among the houses.