Abstract
Leprosy, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, is associated with damaging inflammatory lesions in the skin and peripheral nerves. Leprosy’s hallmark is a broad clinical spectrum of pathology determined by the host immune response. Whereas vigorous cell-mediated immune response leads to the tuberculoid form, specific cellular unresponsiveness to M. leprae antigens leads to lepromatous leprosy. A variety of mechanisms of innate and adaptive immunity have been identified and postulated to play a role in the development of cellular immunity in leprosy. Additionally, host genetic background and the presence of intestinal helminths have been associated with susceptibility to M. leprae infection and its severity in humans. However, what triggers this remarkable spectrum of cellular immune responses to this organism in humans, and how, is still not fully understood.
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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Italia
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Ribeiro-Rodrigues, R. (2012). Host Response to M. leprae . In: Nunzi, E., Massone, C. (eds) Leprosy. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2376-5_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2376-5_4
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