Estudo de subpopulações de linfócitos B na hanseníase

Abstract

Leprosy is, to this day, a major public health problem. Although multidrug therapy (MDT) has significantly reduced the disease prevalence from 5.4 million to a few hundred thousand, the incidence of new cases continues to occur in endemic regions. Although they represent only 1% to 7% of leukocytes, B lymphocytes play important roles in immune defense. These cells may, in addition to producing antibodies, present antigens and secrete various cytokines. Individuals with defective changes in these cells may develop autoimmunity, cancer, immunodeficiencies and allergies. TLR9 plays an important role in the induction of IL-10 producing B lymphocytes. These cells are able to inhibit the differentiation of naive CD4 + T cells into T helper 1 and T helper 17 by producing anti-inflammatory agents. In addition, there are few studies on the role of B-cell subpopulations in leprosy, which were discriminated based on the expression of CD24 and CD38. Our results indicate that B lymphocytes may be acting in the modulation of the immune response in patients with leprosy and that this modulation is linked to the patient's ability to respond to M. leprae.