@article{7364,
  keywords = {Antibodies, Bacterial, Antigens, Bacterial, Antigens, CD, B-Lymphocytes, Cytokines, Histocytochemistry, Humans, leprosy, Macrophages, Mycobacterium leprae, Skin, T-Lymphocytes, Tissue Culture Techniques},
  author = {Iyer A and Mohanty KK and Egmond D and Katoch K and Faber WR and Das P and Sengupta U},
  title = {Leprosy-specific B-cells within cellular infiltrates in active leprosy lesions.},
  abstract = {<p>Leprosy is a spectral disease with polar lepromatous and tuberculoid forms correlating with enhanced humoral and cell-mediated immunity, respectively, against Mycobacterium leprae and the borderline forms, borderline lepromatous, midborderline, and borderline tuberculoid showing in-between clinical and immunological characteristics. Histopathologically, the cellular infiltrates of leprosy lesions show predominantly the presence of interacting T-cells and antigen presenting cells like macrophages, whereas the presence of B-cells has only been sporadically reported. The present study demonstrates by immunohistochemical techniques the presence of B-cells, including plasma cells, in active lesions from lepromatous leprosy, skin smear negative borderline lepromatous, and paucibacillary borderline tuberculoid leprosy. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the in situ production of M leprae-specific antibodies from BT lesions using an organotypic skin explant culture model. Finally, analysis of the cytokine release profile in supernatants of lesional organotypic skin cultures showed a microenvironment conducive to the differentiation and maturation of B-cells. The results demonstrate the presence of different functionally active B-cell stages within lesions of patients with leprosy, including borderline tuberculoid patients, which could secrete anti-M leprae-specific antibodies. However, their role in leprosy pathology remains to be elucidated.</p>},
  year = {2007},
  journal = {Human pathology},
  volume = {38},
  pages = {1065-73},
  month = {2007 Jul},
  issn = {0046-8177},
  doi = {10.1016/j.humpath.2006.12.017},
  language = {eng},
}