02719nas a2200361   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001100055653001300066653002500079653003400104653001700138653004500155653001100200653002500211653002500236653002500261653002500286653001800311653000900329100001600338700001400354700001600368700001100384700001300395700001400408245006200422856004100484300001000525490000700535520180100542022001402343       1999                            d  c1999 Mar10aBiopsy10aCollagen10aExtracellular Matrix10aExtracellular Matrix Proteins10aFibronectins10aFluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect10aHumans10aImmunohistochemistry10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aMicroscopy, Confocal10aMycobacterium leprae10aProteoglycans10aSkin1 aAntunes S L1 aGallo M E1 aAlmeida S M1 aMota E1 aPelajo M1 aLenzl H L00aDermal extracellular matrix in cutaneous leprosy lesions.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v67n1a05.pdf  a24-350 v673 a<p>Thirty-eight biopsies of cutaneous lesions from leprosy patients [borderline tuberculoid (BT) 14, borderline lepromatous (BL) 18, lepromatous (LL) 6] were processed for staining of some extracellular matrix (ECM) components (collagen, proteoglycans, elastic fibers and fibronectin). Specific histological staining and the indirect immunofluorescence method with antibodies to collagen and fibronectin were utilized. The ECM of the normal dermis was strikingly modified in the inflammatory infiltrate. By Gomori's reticulin and anti-fibronectin immunostaining, replacement of the dense interlaced collagen fibers with a reticular mesh was observed in the infiltrate. The immunoreactivity obtained with anti-type I and anti-type III collagens showed positive fibrils and a lumpy pattern in the lepromatous and tuberculoid lesions with a higher amount in the lepromatous lesions. The lack of clear-cut boundaries between the normal dermis and the inflammatory infiltrate in the lepromatous (BL, LL) lesions was correlated with the blurred limits of the clinical lesions of this pole of the leprosy spectrum. Absence of elastic fibers in the infiltrate was a constant finding, and fuchsin-positive microfibrils were found in some infiltrates. The clear zone of lepromatous lesions was devoid of oxytalan fibers. Elaunin fiber rings around sweat gland acini were present even when the leprosy infiltrate was seen enveloping them. The original ECM is replaced by a newly assembled one, which is suited for the dynamic nature of the inflammatory process. The trophic effects of the ECM upon the cutaneous epithelial structures are modified so that atrophy and late degeneration ensues. These ECM modifications contribute, therefore, to the biological alterations of the skin functions in leprosy.</p>  a0148-916X