AUTHOR=Bezerra-Santos Márcio , Bomfim Lays G. Santos , Santos Camilla N. Oliveira , Cunha Maria Wiliane N. , de Moraes Eduardo J. Rocha , Cazzaniga Rodrigo A. , Tenório Martha D. L. , Araujo Jonnia M. Sherlock , Menezes-Silva Lucas , Magalhães Lucas Sousa , Barreto Aline S. , Reed Steven G. , Duthie Malcolm S. , Lipscomb Michael W. , de Almeida Roque Pacheco , de Moura Tatiana Rodrigues , de Jesus Amélia Ribeiro 

TITLE=sTREM-1 and TNF-α levels are associated with the clinical outcome of leprosy patients

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1177375

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2023.1177375

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p>Leprosy reaction (LR) and physical disability (PD) are the most significant clinical complications of leprosy. Herein, we assessed the circulating serum-sTREM-1 and TNF-α levels and their genetic polymorphisms in leprosy. Serum-sTREM-1 and TNF-α levels were measured in leprosy patients (LP) before treatment (<italic>n</italic> = 51) and from their household contacts (HHCs; <italic>n</italic> = 25). DNA samples were genotyped using TREM-1 rs2234246 and TNF-α rs1800629-SNP in 210 LPs and 168 endemic controls. The circulating sTREM-1 and TNF-α levels are higher in the multibacillary form. The ROC curve of the serum-sTREM-1 levels was able to differentiate LR from non-LR and PD from non-PD. Similarly, LPs with serum-sTREM-1 levels &gt;210 pg/ml have 3-fold and 6-fold higher chances of presenting with LR and PD, respectively. Genotypes CC+CT of the TREM-1 were associated with leprosy. Taken together, our analyses indicated that sTREM-1 and TNF-α play an important role in the pathogenesis of leprosy and provide promising biomarkers to assist in the diagnosis of leprosy complications.</p>