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Mycobacterium leprae

Mycobacterium leprae
Microphotograph of Mycobacterium leprae taken from a skin lesion.
The small brick-red rod-shaped cells appear in clusters.
Source: CDC
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Actinomycetota
Class: Actinomycetia
Order: Mycobacteriales
Family: Mycobacteriaceae
Genus: Mycobacterium
Species:
M. leprae
Binomial name
Mycobacterium leprae
Hansen, 1874

Mycobacterium leprae (also known as the leprosy bacillus or Hansen's bacillus) is one[a] of the two species of bacteria that cause Hansen's disease (leprosy),[1] a chronic but curable infectious disease that damages the peripheral nerves and targets the skin, eyes, nose, and muscles.[2]

It is an acid-fast, Gram-positive, rod shaped bacterium and an obligate intracellular parasite, which means, unlike its relative Mycobacterium tuberculosis, it cannot be grown in cell-free laboratory media.[3] This is likely due to gene deletion and decay that the genome of the species has experienced via reductive evolution, which has caused the bacterium to depend heavily on its host for nutrients and metabolic intermediates.[4] It has a narrow host range and apart from humans, the only other natural hosts are nine-banded armadillo and red squirrels.[5] The bacteria infect mainly macrophages and Schwann cells, and are typically found congregated as a palisade.[6][7]

Mycobacterium leprae was sensitive to dapsone as a treatment alone, but since the 1960s, it has developed resistance against this antibiotic. Currently, a multidrug treatment (MDT) is recommended by the World Health Organization, including dapsone, rifampicin, and clofazimine. The species was discovered in 1873 by the Norwegian physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, and was the first bacterium to be identified as a cause of disease in humans.[8]


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  1. ^ Serrano-Coll H, Cardona-Castro N (June 2022). "Neuropathic ulcers in leprosy: clinical features, diagnosis and treatment". Journal of Wound Care. 31 (Sup6): S32–S40. doi:10.12968/jowc.2022.31.Sup6.S32. PMID 35678776. S2CID 249521365.
  2. ^ "Mycobacterium Leprae, the Cause of Leprosy". Microbiology Society. August 27, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Baron was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference pmid21162636 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Sharma R, Singh P, Pena M, Subramanian R, Chouljenko V, Kim J, et al. (August 2018). "Differential growth of Mycobacterium leprae strains (SNP genotypes) in armadillos". Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 62: 20–26. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2018.04.017. PMID 29665434. S2CID 4953934.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Leal-Calvo T, Martins BL, Bertoluci DF, Rosa PS, de Camargo RM, Germano GV, Brito de Souza VN, Pereira Latini AC, Moraes MO (2021). "Large-Scale Gene Expression Signatures Reveal a Microbicidal Pattern of Activation in Mycobacterium leprae-Infected Monocyte-Derived Macrophages With Low Multiplicity of Infection". Frontiers in Immunology. 12: 647832. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2021.647832. PMC 8085500. PMID 33936067.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hansen_1874 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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