Background: Peripheral nerve injury and bone lesions, well known leprosy complications, lead to deformities and incapacities. The phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidase on the X chromosome (PHEX) encodes a homonymous protein (PHEX) implicated in bone metabolism. PHEX/PHEX alterations may result in bone and cartilage lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropathy and bone deformities, lifelong sequelae of leprosy that persist after treatment, result in significant impairment to patients and compromise their social rehabilitation. Phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidase on the X chromosome (PHEX) is a Zn-metalloendopeptidase, which is abundantly expressed in osteoblasts and many other cell types, such as Schwann cells, and has been implicated in phosphate metabolism and X-linked rickets. Here, we demonstrate that Mycobacterium leprae stimulation downregulates PHEX transcription and protein expression in a human schwannoma cell line (ST88-14) and human osteoblast lineage.
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