02131nas a2200169   4500000000100000008004100001100001600042700001400058700001800072700001400090245012700104856006800231300000900299490000700308520163200315022001401947       2015                            d1 aParente JNT1 aTalhari C1 aSchettini APM1 aMassone C00aT regulatory cells (TREG)(TCD4+CD25+FOXP3+) distribution in the different clinical forms of leprosy and reactional states.  uhttp://www.scielo.br/pdf/abd/v90n1/0365-0596-abd-90-01-0041.pdf  a41-70 v903 a<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Leprosy is characterized histologically by a spectrum of different granulomatous skin lesions, reflecting patients' immune responses to Mycobacterium leprae. Although CD4+CD25+ FoxP3+ T regulatory cells are pivotal in the immuneregulation, presence, frequency, and distribution of Tregs in leprosy, its reactional states have been investigated in few studies.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>This study aimed to verify the frequency and distribution of regulatory T cells in different clinical forms and reactional states of leprosy.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>We performed an immunohistochemical study on 96 leprosy cases [Indeterminate (I): 9 patients; tuberculoid tuberculoid: 13 patients; borderline tuberculoid: 26 patients; borderline borderline: 3 patients; borderline lepromatous: 8 patients; lepromatous lepromatous: 27 patients; reversal reaction: 8 patients; and erythema nodosum leprosum: 2 patients].</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>FoxP3-positive cells were present in 100% of the cases with an average density of 2.82% of the infiltrate. Their distribution was not related to granulomatous structures or special locations. There was a statistically significant increment of FoxP3 expression in patients with leprosy reversal reactions when compared with patients presenting with type I leprosy (P= 0.0228); borderline tuberculoid leprosy (P = 0.0351) and lepromatous leprosy (P = 0.0344).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>These findings suggest that Tregs play a relevant role in the etiopathogenesis of leprosy, mainly in type I leprosy reaction.</p>
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