@article{2173,
  keywords = {Cytokines, Down-Regulation, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Erythema Nodosum, Female, Humans, Interleukin-4, Leprosy, lepromatous, Leprosy, Tuberculoid, Male, Reference Values, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction, Sensitivity and Specificity},
  author = {Nath I and Vemuri N and Reddi A L and Bharadwaj M and Brooks P and Colston M J and Misra R S and Ramesh V},
  title = {Dysregulation of IL-4 expression in lepromatous leprosy patients with and without erythema nodosum leprosum.},
  abstract = {<p>In order to increase our understanding of the immunological basis of erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), we studied Th-like cytokine profiles in 130 leprosy patients, employing both the conventional and a novel, real-time, fluorogenic reverse transcriptase-based PCR (RT-PCR). The concomitant expression of both Th-like cytokines, interferon-gamma and IL-4, and the regulatory cytokines, IL-10 and IL-12, was studied in the peripheral blood cells of leprosy patients with and without ENL. In the conventional RT-PCR, varied cytokine profiles were observed in individual patients of all clinical types. Fifty-three percent of lepromatous patients without ENL and 59% of tuberculoid leprosy patients showed co-expression of IFN gamma and IL-4, indicating a non-polarized Th 0 pattern. Of the 36 patients with ENL, 58% demonstrated a polarized Th 1 pattern, with only 30% expressing both cytokines. Semiquantitative RT-PCR indicated a lower expression of IL-4 compared to that of IFN gamma in the lepromatous patients without ENL; the difference was even greater among those with ENL. The sensitive, real-time PCR confirmed the down-regulation of IL-4 and IL-10, with absence of IL-4 in half of the patients, resulting in skewing of the cytokine response toward a Th 1-like profile.</p>},
  year = {2000},
  journal = {Leprosy review},
  volume = {71 Suppl},
  pages = {S130-7},
  month = {2000 Dec},
  issn = {0305-7518},
  url = {http://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/2000/v71s1/pdf/v71s1a27.pdf},
  doi = {10.5935/0305-7518.20000084},
  language = {eng},
}