title: The association between mannan-binding lectin gene polymorphism and clinical leprosy: new insight into an old paradigm.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mannan-binding lectin (MBL), a soluble protein of innate immunity, is known to play a role in pathogen recognition and clearance. For more than a decade, it has been proposed that MBL deficiency may be protective against intracellular pathogens, such as Mycobacterium leprae.
  
  
  METHODS
  The polymorphisms at the promoter and exon 1 regions of the MBL2 gene were assessed by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing performed on 264 patients with leprosy and 214 matched healthy control subjects from southern Brazil. RESULTS. The distribution of MBL2-gene polymorphisms in patients was significantly different from that in controls, with a decreased frequency of haplotypes/genotypes associated with low expression of circulating MBL in lepromatous patients when compared with tuberculoid patients (odds ratio [OR] for haplotypes, 0.56 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.33-0.93] [P=.020]; OR for genotypes, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.13-0.71] [P=.004]). The LYPA haplotype was associated with susceptibility to leprosy per se (OR, 2.25 [95% CI, 1.31-3.88] [P=.003]) and to progression to the lepromatous (OR, 2.2 [95% CI, 1.21-4.05] [P=.008]) and borderline (OR, 2.98 [95% CI, 1.29-6.87] [P=.008]) forms of the disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that MBL2-gene polymorphisms play a role in susceptibility to leprosy per se and in the clinical progression of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of Tubingen, Tubingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Iara J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: de Messias-Reason
authors.forename: Angelica B W
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Boldt
authors.forename: Anna Carolina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Moraes Braga
authors.forename: Ewalda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Von Rosen Seeling Stahlke
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dornelles
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pereira-Ferrari
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Kremsner
authors.forename: Jurgen F J
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D037601:Mannose-Binding Lectin / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D037601:Mannose-Binding Lectin