Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Leprosy: a view of the molecular interaction of Mycobacterium leprae with Schwann Cells

2021; Medical Association of São Paulo; Linguagem: Inglês

10.5327/1516-3180.469

1806-9460

Ronaldi Gonçalves dos Santos, Bhenise Vitória Santos Nunes, Gabriela Santos Domiciano, Humberto Gessinger Nascimento dos Santos, Jean Cardek Paulino Silva, Mariana Goulart de Souza Martins, Pedro Henrique Delfino, Fernando Mesquita Júnior,

Science and Education Research

Introduction: Leprosy is an infectious disease whose etiologic agent is Mycobacterium leprae. Despite its notoriety, there are mechanisms of molecular interaction that have not been elucidated. Therefore, it was carried out a literary review about the molecular interaction between M. leprae and the Schwann cell (SC), characterizing the mechanisms of endocytosis and cellular damage. Methods: It was delimited a 10-year timeframe (2010 to 2020). The research bases used were Portal de Periódicos CAPES/MEC, National Library of Medicine - PubMed, World Health Organization (WHO) Statistical Data, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Ministry of Health of Brazil Data, Scielo, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (ARCA-FIOCRUZ) and UpToDate Inc. Results: M. Leprae is endocitized through interactions with basal lamina of the SC, whose α-laminin 2 enables the formation of the dystrophin-dystroglycan complex. Moreover, the activity of the pathogen in the SC is associated with direct, indirect and additional damage. It was verified the need for continuous studies due to the complexity of this molecular biointeraction, given the cellular reprogramming of SC and its neuronal impact. Conclusion: There are still many scientific gaps, requiring further clarification in the area, which results in uncertainties in the tropism of the pathogen with the peripheral nerves.