Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec 5;23(1):853.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-08862-0.

Association of PTX3 gene polymorphisms and PTX3 plasma levels with leprosy susceptibility

Ana Clara Cadidé Gonzaga Moraes  1 , Renata Clesia Feitosa Viana da Luz  1 , André Luís Magalhães Fernandes  2 , Milena Xavier Silva Barbosa  3 , Lorena Viana de Andrade  3 , Anderson da Costa Armstrong  4 , Carlos Dornels Freire de Souza  4 , Rodrigo Feliciano do Carmo  5   6   7
Affiliations

Association of PTX3 gene polymorphisms and PTX3 plasma levels with leprosy susceptibility

Ana Clara Cadidé Gonzaga Moraes et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a soluble pattern recognition receptor that plays a crucial role in modulating the inflammatory response and activating the complement system. Additionally, plasma PTX3 has emerged as a potential biomarker for various infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of PTX3 gene polymorphisms and PTX3 plasma levels with susceptibility to leprosy and clinical characteristics.

Methods: Patients with leprosy from a hyperendemic area in the Northeast Region of Brazil were included. Healthy household contacts and healthy blood donors from the same geographical area were recruited as a control group. The rs1840680 and rs2305619 polymorphisms of PTX3 were determined by real-time PCR. Plasma levels of PTX3 were determined by ELISA.

Results: A total of 512 individuals were included. Of these, 273 were patients diagnosed with leprosy; 53 were household contacts, and 186 were healthy blood donors. No association was observed between PTX3 polymorphisms and susceptibility to leprosy or development of leprosy reaction or physical disability. On the other hand, plasma levels of PTX3 were significantly higher in patients with leprosy when compared to household contacts (p = 0.003) or blood donors (p = 0.04). It was also observed that PTX3 levels drop significantly after multidrug therapy (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that PTX3 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of leprosy and point to the potential use of this molecule as an infection marker.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Leprosy; Pentraxin; Polymorphism; SNP.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Prof. Rodrigo Feliciano do Carmo states his participation as a BMC Infectious Diseases editorial board member. The other authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of PTX3 plasma levels (ng/mL) according to group: patients with leprosy, household contacts, and blood donors. Statistical significance was determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test with post hoc Dunn’s test. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
PTX3 plasma levels (ng/mL) in patients with leprosy before multidrug therapy (MDT) and post-MDT. Statistical significance was determined using the Mann-Whitney Test. ****P < 0.0001
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
PTX3 plasma levels (ng/mL) distribution according to leprosy reactions. Statistical significance was determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. ns: non-significant
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
PTX3 plasma levels (ng/mL) distribution according to disability grade. Statistical significance was determined using the Kruskal-Wallis test. ns: non-significant
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Garlanda C, Bottazzi B, Magrini E, Inforzato A, Mantovani A. PTX3, a Humoral Pattern Recognition Molecule, in Innate Immunity, tissue repair and Cancer. Physiol Rev. 2018;98:623. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00016.2017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Han B, Mura M, Andrade CF, Okutani D, Lodyga M, dos Santos CC, et al. TNFα-Induced Long Pentraxin PTX3 expression in human lung epithelial cells via JNK. J Immunol. 2005;175:8303–11. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.175.12.8303. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Doni A, Peri G, Chieppa M, Allavena P, Pasqualini F, Vago L, et al. Production of the soluble pattern recognition receptor PTX3 by myeloid, but not plasmacytoid, dendritic cells. Eur J Immunol. 2003;33:2886–93. doi: 10.1002/eji.200324390. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Leali D, Inforzato A, Ronca R, Bianchi R, Belleri M, Coltrini D et al. Long pentraxin 3/TSG-6 interaction: a biological rheostat for fibroblast growth factor 2-mediated angiogenesis. Arterioscl Throm Vas. 2012;32:696. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Doni A, Stravalaci M, Inforzato A, Magrini E, Mantovani A, Garlanda C et al. The long pentraxin PTX3 as a link between innate immunity, tissue remodeling, and cancer. Front Immunol. 2019;10 APR:712. - PMC - PubMed