02815nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001653001100042653002000053653001200073653002500085653000900110653001500119100001700134700001300151700001300164700001500177700001700192700002500209700001500234700001300249700001700262245008000279856005500359300001700414490001400431520208000445       2018                            d10aIL-1β10aImmune response10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae10aNLRP10apyroptosis1 aMota Silva L1 aSousa JR1 aHirai KE1 aDias Jr LB1 aFurlaneto IP1 aOliveira Carneiro FR1 aAarão TLS1 aSotto MN1 aQuaresma JAS00aThe inflammasome in leprosy skin lesions: an immunohistochemical evaluation  uhttps://www.dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=46125  a2231—2240 0 vVolume 113 a<p><strong>Objective:</strong> Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease presenting with a spectrum of clinical manifestations that correspond to the type of immune response that develops in the host. Factors that may be involved in this process include inflammasomes, cytosolic proteins responsible for the activation of caspase 1, IL-1β and IL-18 secretion, and induction of a type of death called pyroptosis.<br />
<strong>Patients and methods:</strong> We evaluated the expression of inflammasome markers (nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 1 [NLRP1], nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 3 [NLRP3], caspase 1, IL-1β, and IL-18) by immunohistochemistry in 43 samples of skin lesions of leprosy patients from the groups indeterminate (I) leprosy (13 patients), tuberculoid (TT) leprosy (15 patients), and lepromatous leprosy (LL; 15 patients).<br />
<strong>Results</strong>: The evaluated markers were most upregulated in LL lesions, followed by lesions of TT leprosy and I leprosy. Differences were statistically significant between the I leprosy and LL leprosy forms and between the I leprosy and TT leprosy forms. Positive and significant correlations were found between IL-18 and caspase 1 in LL (<em>r</em>=0.7516, <em>P</em>=0.0012) and TT leprosy (<em>r</em>=0.7366, <em>P</em>=0.0017). In I leprosy, correlations were detected between caspase 1 and IL-1β (<em>r</em>=0.6412, <em>P</em>=0.0182), NLRP1 and IL-18 (<em>r</em>=0.5585, <em>P</em>=0.473), NLRP3 and IL-18 (<em>r</em>=0.6873, <em>P</em>=0.0094), and NLRP1 and NLRP3 (<em>r</em>=0.8040, <em>P</em>=0.0009).<br />
<strong>Conclusion:</strong> The expression of inflammasome markers in LL lesions indicates the ineffectiveness of this protein complex in controlling the infection. Caspase 1 may be involved in the pyroptotic cell death in the lepromatous form of the disease. Inflammasomes may act together in the initial phase of I leprosy; this phenomenon may influence the clinical outcome of the disease.</p>