01146nas a2200253   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001100055653002300066653001200089653002300101653002500124653002000149653002100169653001800190100001200208700001200220245004000232300001000272490000700282050001400289520057500303022001400878       2007                            d  c2007 Mar10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aModels, Biological10aMycobacterium leprae10aProtein Binding10aReceptor, erbB-210aSchwann Cells1 aNoon LA1 aLloyd A00aTreating leprosy: an Erb-al remedy?  a103-50 v28  aNOON 20073 a<p>The leprosy pathogen Mycobacterium leprae attacks Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system, causing them to demyelinate. Recent work by Tapinos et al. shows that a direct mechanism of demyelination induced by M. leprae depends on the binding of the bacterium to the receptor tyrosine kinase ErbB2 on Schwann cells and the resulting activation of the Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK pathway. These findings have relevance for the potential treatment of leprosy and they highlight parallels between the dedifferentiation signal in leprosy and that in nerve injury and cancer.</p>  a0165-6147