麻风免疫诊断标记物研究进展

Biomarkers in immunologic diagnosis of leprosy

麻风是麻风分枝杆菌感染所致的慢性传染性疾病,体液免疫及细胞免疫参与麻风的发病机制。目前血清抗体及辅助性T细胞2(Th2)相关细胞因子检测主要应用于诊断多菌型麻风(MB),辅助性T细胞1(Th1)相关细胞因子检测主要应用于诊断少菌型麻风(PB)。microRNAs可用于区分瘤型及结核型麻风。但上述诊断试验的敏感性及特异性不一,何种标记物诊断效能更佳仍存在争议。本文主要从血清抗体、细胞因子及microRNA标记物检测及其临床应用等方面进行综述,以期为新型早期诊断麻风方法的优化提供依据。

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Humoral immunity and cellular immunity play a role in the pathogenesis of leprosy. Serological tests and cytokines produced by T-helper-2(Th2) cell are mainly applied to the diagnosis of multibacillary leprosy while Th1-based tests are mainly applied to detect paucibacillary leprosy. Furthermore, microRNAs can distinguish between lepromatous leprosy and tuberculoid leprosy. However, which biomarker is more effective remains controversy due to their different sensitivity and specificity. In this paper, the detection of serum antibodies, cytokines and microRNAs and their clinical applications are reviewed in order to provide a basis for the optimization of a new method for the early diagnosis of leprosy.