Korean J Dermatol.  2006 Mar;44(3):304-308.

Expression of Smad 2 and 3 on the Lesions of Leprosy

• Lee HS
• Lee JR
• Choi GS
• Shin JH
• Choi HY

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Leprosy is an infectious disease with two polar forms, tuberculoid leprosy (TT) and lepromatous leprosy (LL), that are characterized by strong cell-mediated immunity (CMI) and CMI anergy, respectively. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a family of growth factors involved in essential physiological processes, including development, differentiation, tissue repair, cell growth control and inflammation. Cellular signaling by TGF-beta family members is initiated by the assembly of specific cell surface receptors that activate transcription factors of the Smad family. Deregulation of the TGF-beta-Smad signaling pathway has been implicated in developmental disorders and several human diseases. Recently, ELISA & immunohistochemistry revealed high expression of TGF-beta isoforms in LL.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate TGF-beta-Smad signaling in various forms of leprosy.
METHODS
We investigated the involvement of TGF-beta by immunohistochemical staining for Smad 2 and 3 in skin biopsies from six patients of BL and four patients of TT.
RESULTS
The inflammatory cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts in BL showed strong positivity for both Smad 2 and 3, whereas those in TT showed little positivity.
CONCLUSION
The high expression of Smad 2/3 in BL could represent high expression of TGF-beta, which possibly contributes to local CMI anergy and other clinical characteristic features of leprosy.

Keyword

Leprosy; Smad; Transforming growth factor beta

MeSH Terms

Biopsy
Communicable Diseases
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Fibroblasts
Humans
Immunity, Cellular
Immunohistochemistry
Inflammation
Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
Keratinocytes
Leprosy*
Leprosy, Lepromatous
Leprosy, Tuberculoid
Physiological Processes
Protein Isoforms
Receptors, Cell Surface
Skin
Transcription Factors
Transforming Growth Factor beta
Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
Protein Isoforms
Receptors, Cell Surface
Transcription Factors
Transforming Growth Factor beta