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Comment
. 2013 Apr 17;13(4):377-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2013.04.001.

Taking sides: interferons in leprosy

Ludovic P Desvignes  1 , Joel D Ernst
Affiliations
Comment

Taking sides: interferons in leprosy

Ludovic P Desvignes et al. Cell Host Microbe. .

Abstract

In a recent Science paper, Teles et al. (2013) show that type I and II interferons (IFNs) are reciprocally expressed in the polar immune forms of leprosy, with type I IFNs inducing IL-10 that interferes with the antimycobacterial effects of type II IFNs (IFNγ) at the site of infection.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The role of interferons in the spectrum of leprosy
High bacterial loads, numerous lipid-rich, myeloid-derived foam cells and rare lymphocytes characterize lepromatous leprosy. Those lesions are associated with a type I interferon-, or IFN-α/β-, driven transcriptional signature, including the production of interleukin 10. IL-10 inhibits downstream anti-mycobacterial effectors induced by type II interferon, or IFN-γ, which are the hallmark of the better-controlled form, tuberculoid leprosy, and of reversal reaction (RR) lesions, a transitional form of the disease. In tuberculoid leprosy lesions, only few bacteria can be found in macrophages, surrounded by numerous CD4+ T cells, organized in well-formed granulomas.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

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