02061nas a2200217 4500000000100000008004100001260001000042100001300052700001600065700001400081700001500095700001900110700001400129700001900143245010000162856012200262300001200384490000700396520142600403022001401829 2020 d bLepra1 aRêgo JL1 aSantana NDL1 aAguiar ER1 aQueiroz IS1 ade Carvalho LP1 aMachado P1 aCastellucci LC00aSerum immune markers as triggers of reactional episodes in multibacillary patients with leprosy uhttps://leprosyreview.org/admin/public/article_shell/uploads/article_files/Lepra/LEPROSY/91/4/lr2020326/lr2020326.pdf a393-4020 v913 aIntroduction:
The development of leprosy reactions is one of the main challenges in the management of patients with leprosy. The reactions can be divided into type 1 (RR) and type 2 (ENL), representing comorbidities that can cause nerve damage and disability. This study aimed to correlate the production of immunological markers in the serum of leprosy patients with and without reactions.

Methods:
Cytokines and chemokines were measured in serum by sandwich ELISA in a cross-section of 69 leprosy patients: 24 without evidence of reactions (NR), 23 with RR and 22 with ENL.

Results:
We identified an increase in CXCL-9 and CXCL-10 in the multibacillary forms (MB) of leprosy that might have a role in the development of reactions, since both chemokines were positively correlated with the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 in reactional patients. IL-8 was also noted as a marker for reactions and was correlated with TNF and CCL4 in this group. Even in patients without reactions there was a strong correlation between IL-8 and IL-6, which led us to think that the concomitant increase in these two markers in MB patients may signal impending reactions.

Conclusions:
All together, we suggest CXCL-9, CXCL-10, IL-8 and CCL4 as markers for leprosy reaction development, in addition to the interactions with inflammatory cytokines incriminated in MB, such as IL-6 and TNF. a2162-8807