The impact of KIR/HLA genes on the risk of developing multibacillary leprosy.

BACKGROUND:Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are a group of regulatory molecules able to activate or inhibit natural killer cells upon interaction with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules. Combinations of KIR and HLA may contribute to the occurrence of different immunologi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Main Authors: Hugo Vicentin Alves, Amarilis Giaretta de Moraes, Afonso Carrasco Pepineli, Bruna Tiaki Tiyo, Quirino Alves de Lima Neto, Thais da Silva Santos, Jorge Juarez Vieira Teixeira, Eliane P Ambrosio-Albuquerque, Ana Maria Sell, Jeane Eliete Laguila Visentainer
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019
Subjects:
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007696
https://doaj.org/article/bb8c93d78d204c2b980a07ffff9550d6
Description
Summary:BACKGROUND:Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are a group of regulatory molecules able to activate or inhibit natural killer cells upon interaction with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules. Combinations of KIR and HLA may contribute to the occurrence of different immunological and clinical responses to infectious diseases. Leprosy is a chronic neglected disease, both disabling and disfiguring, caused mainly by Mycobacterium leprae. In this case-control study, we examined the influence of KIRs and HLA ligands on the development of multibacillary leprosy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Genotyping of KIR and HLA genes was performed in 264 multibacillary leprosy patients and 518 healthy unrelated controls (238 healthy household contacts and 280 healthy subjects). These are unprecedented results in which KIR2DL2/KIR2DL2/C1/C2 and KIR2DL3/2DL3/C1/C1 indicated a risk for developing lepromatous and borderline leprosy, respectively. Concerning to 3DL2/A3/A11+, our study demonstrated that independent of control group (contacts or healthy subjects), this KIR receptor and its ligand act as a risk factor for the borderline clinical form. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Our finding suggests that synergetic associations of activating and inhibitory KIR genes may alter the balance between these receptors and thus interfere in the progression of multibacillary leprosy.

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