02558nas a2200241   4500000000100000008004100001260004400042653002200086100001100108700001100119700001200130700000900142700001100151700001200162700001100174700001200185700000900197245007700206856007900283490000700362520193300369022001402302       2023                            d  bSpringer Science and Business Media LLC10amultidisciplinary1 aYang X1 aDong H1 aKuang Y1 aYu X1 aLong H1 aZhang C1 aWang D1 aZhang D1 aLi Y00aLong-term presence of autoantibodies in plasma of cured leprosy patients  uhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-27256-x.pdf?pdf=button%20sticky0 v133 a<p>Autoantibodies have been detected in leprosy patients, indicating that infection with M. leprae may lead to autoimmune disorders. However, whether autoimmune response last until patients are cured is unknown. Knowing the autoimmune response in cured leprosy patients is essential to identify whether symptoms are caused by leprosy itself or by other immune-related diseases. This knowledge is essential for the ongoing health management in cured leprosy patients where autoimmune disorders still exist. In our study, we selected six autoantibodies, including anticardiolipin antibody of IgG (ACA), anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), extractable nuclear antigen antibody (ENA), anti-streptolysin O (ASO), anti-double stranded DNA antibody (dsDNA), and rheumatoid factor (RF), that had been reported in leprosy patients as typical autoantibodies. We tested the six typical autoantibodies combined with LACC1, which encodes a protein associated with autoimmune disease such as Crohn’s disease and is also the susceptible gene conferring leprosy risk, in cured leprosy patients through ELISA to assess the cured patient’s immune status. We observed high positive rates of autoantibodies in cured leprosy patients, and the average plasma levels of five (ACA, ANA, ENA, ASO, and RF) out of the six autoantibodies were significantly higher in cured leprosy patients than in controls. The positive detection of autoantibodies is independent of the recovery period. Moreover, the level of these autoantibodies showed a strong positive correlation with the level of LACC1 in both controls and cured patients. This study showed that there is long-term autoimmunological activation in leprosy patients, even after decades of recovery. Autoimmune responses may influence the development and prognosis of leprosy. Special care should be given to posttreatment or cured leprosy patients regarding long-term autoimmunological activation.</p>
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