Profiling of human PBMC exposed to M. leprae

Leprosy is major public health problem in developing countries. M. leprae infects human macrophages and Schwann cells leading to a chronic disease. Leprosy studies are constrained due to the lack of in vitro growth system for M. leprae. Moreover, the overall pathogenesis is poorly understood although the expression of some pro-inflammatory cytokines is associated with nerve damage that occurs during the infection. PBMC may participate of the host response to M. leprae infection leading to the inflammatory profile. We aimed to investigate the global human gene expression profile of human PBMC exposed to M. leprae for 4 H. Due to the reduced supply of M. leprae our study was restricted to three chips, including a dye-swap set. Our analysis revealed gene expression differences in cell receptors, NF-kB signaling and oxidative stress response. The results were confirmed by Real-time PCR and flow-cytometry and point to new insights into the molecular events resulted from host-pathogen interaction Keywords: Modulation of human PBMC gene expression by M. leprae We analyzed 3 oligo-human chips, 10K elements each, spotted in duplicates. Two chips were replicas and one a dye-swap