Caracterização imuno-histopatológica das lesões cutâneas e pele contralateral em novos casos de hanseníase

Abstract

Leprosy is a neglected disease in Brazil. In 2014, were reported 24,612 new cases. The disease has different clinical and histopathological manifestations that are associated with host immune responses. Pathological features are well known in skin lesions. However, they are unknown in the uninjured skin. Given this gap in knowledge, we conducted an observational and cross-sectional comparison of immuno-histopathological aspects of lesions and contralateral skin, through HE and immunohistochemical methods. Inflammatory infiltrate characteristics and Foxp3, IFN-, IL-10, IL-17 and IL-12 expression were evaluated. Statistical tests (Chi-square, T Test and Mann-Whitney) were performed and analyzed in MINITAB 17 software. In histopathology, perivascular inflammatory infiltration were evidenced both in damaged and normal skin, with greater cellularity in the first. In immunohistochemistry analysis, the normal and injured skin exhibit predominantly similar phenotypes in biomarkers. Thus, the results suggest that cutaneous immune response against leprosy appears to be active in both the lesion and in apparently harmless skin.