Citocinas inflamatórias e perfil reológico do sangue de pacientes com reações hansênicas tipo 1 ou 2 com foco infeccioso odontogênico

Abstract

Leprosy is an endemic disease in Brazil with high prevalence rates in several regions, the causative agent being Mycobacterium leprae. Studies have suggested that the balance between pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines seems to be important in the pathogenesis of the disease and the establishment of odontogenic infection. Therefore, the increase in the concentration levels of IL-6, IL-1𝛽, TNFα, and IL-12 may be associated with an oral infection. Thus, the objective of this work will be to evaluate the profile of the pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines present in the serum of patients with type 1 or 2 leprosy reactions and with concomitant odontogenic infection. Serum samples were collected from 08 individuals with type 1 or 2 leprosy reactions, age between 40 and 70 years with a previous dental infection diagnosis, and 09 individuals without leprosy. The concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, and TNFα cytokines present in the serum samples were evaluated by flow cytometry (FACSCalibur, BD Bioscience, USA), and the data were analyzed using FCAP Array software. It was observed that there was an increase in IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-12 in the serum of leprosy patients who had mouth infections. However, there were no differences in the concentration of TNF-α between the studied groups. These data suggest a greater inflammatory activity in patients with leprosy reactions. This inflammatory activity, measured by IL-6 and IL-12, seems to be even more intense in patients with leprosy reactions and concomitant odontogenic infection and may function as inflammatory biomarkers in predicting type 1 or 2 leprosy reactions.