title: Treating leprosy: an Erb-al remedy?
abstract: The leprosy pathogen Mycobacterium leprae attacks Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system, causing them to demyelinate. Recent work by Tapinos et al. shows that a direct mechanism of demyelination induced by M. leprae depends on the binding of the bacterium to the receptor tyrosine kinase ErbB2 on Schwann cells and the resulting activation of the Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK pathway. These findings have relevance for the potential treatment of leprosy and they highlight parallels between the dedifferentiation signal in leprosy and that in nerve injury and cancer.
authors.affiliation: MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology and the Department of Biochemistry, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Luke A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Noon
authors.forename: Alison C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Lloyd
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007917:Leprostatic Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007918:Leprosy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007917:Leprostatic Agents; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases