02272nas a2200445   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001000055653000900065653002000074653002000094653001500114653001600129653001200145653003000157653001100187653001100198653001700209653002300226653001200249653000900261653001600270653002500286653001300311653002200324100001700346700001300363700001100376700001400387700001400401700001400415700001500429700001600444700001600460245006700476300001000543490000800553520125100561022001401812       2010                            d  c2010 Feb10aAdult10aAged10aChemokine CCL1110aChemokine CCL2410aChemokines10aClofazimine10aDapsone10aDrug Therapy, Combination10aFemale10aHumans10aLaboratories10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aMycobacterium leprae10aRifampin10aTreatment Outcome1 aMendonça VA1 aCosta RD1 aLyon S1 aPenido RA1 aBorges VO1 aBretas TL1 aAntunes CM1 aTeixeira MM1 aTeixeira AL00aPlasma levels of chemokines during leprosy specific treatment.  a151-40 v1133 a<p>Leprosy, whose etiologic agent is Mycobacterium leprae, is an illness of ample clinical and immunopathological spectrum. Although chemokines seem to be involved in the immunopathogenesis of leprosis, few studies have been carried out to unveil the potential of chemokines as biological markers of the disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of measuring CCL2, CCL3, CCL11 and CCL24 in plasma of patients with leprosy (LE) at different stages of multi-drug therapy (MDT). Chemokines were measured by ELISA in plasma of 30 non-infected individuals (NI) and 33 LE patients before and at different stages of treatment. The plasma concentration of CCL11 (p<0.01) and CCL24 (p<0.05) was increased in LE patients before treatment when compared to NI individuals. The plasma concentration of CCL24 decreased after MDT (p<0.05). No differences were observed in the concentration of CCL2 and CCL3 in plasma of NI and LE individuals. The elevated levels of CCL11 and CCL24 in plasma of patients with LE suggest that these chemokines may play a role in disease pathogenesis. Moreover, the decrease of CCL24 after treatment suggests that this chemokine might be useful as a biomarker of response to MDT in patients with leprosy.</p>  a1873-6254