AI Article Synopsis
- Nerve damage caused by leprosy may be related to the production of harmful agents like nitric oxide and peroxynitrite in skin lesions.
- Researchers studied the presence of nitrotyrosine, a byproduct of peroxynitrite, in leprosy-affected dermal nerves using specialized microscopy techniques.
- Findings indicated high levels of nitrotyrosine and inducible nitric oxide synthase in macrophages in leprosy granulomas, suggesting a potential link between these substances and nerve damage in borderline leprosy cases.
Article Abstract
Background: Nerve damage is a common and disabling feature of leprosy, with unclear aetiology. It has been reported that the peroxidizing agents of myelin lipids-nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite-are produced in leprosy skin lesions.
Objectives: To investigate the localization of nitrotyrosine (NT)-a local end-product of peroxynitrite-in leprosy lesions where dermal nerves are affected by a granulomatous reaction.
Methods: We investigated by immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy the localization of the inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and NT in biopsies exhibiting dermal nerves from patients with untreated leprosy.
Results: There were abundant NT-positive and iNOS-positive macrophages in the borderline leprosy granulomas infiltrating peripheral nerves identified by light microscopy, S-100 and neurofilament immunostaining. Immunoelectron microscopy showed NT reactivity in neurofilament aggregates and in the cell wall of Mycobacterium leprae.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that NO and peroxynitrite could be involved in the nerve damage following borderline leprosy.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2133.2004.05764.x | DOI Listing |
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