Neutrophil NETworking in ENL: Potential as a Putative Biomarker: Future Insights
- PMID: 34336901
- PMCID: PMC8316588
- DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.697804
Neutrophil NETworking in ENL: Potential as a Putative Biomarker: Future Insights
Abstract
Erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), also known as type 2 reaction (T2R) is an immune complex mediated (type III hypersensitivity) reactional state encountered in patients with borderline lepromatous and lepromatous leprosy (BL and LL) either before, during, or after the institution of anti-leprosy treatment (ALT). The consequences of ENL may be serious, leading to permanent nerve damage and deformities, constituting a major cause of leprosy-related morbidity. The incidence of ENL is increasing with the increasing number of multibacillary cases. Although the diagnosis of ENL is not difficult to make for physicians involved in the care of leprosy patients, its management continues to be a most challenging aspect of the leprosy eradication program: the chronic and recurrent painful skin lesions, neuritis, and organ involvement necessitates prolonged treatment with prednisolone, thalidomide, and anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs, which further adds to the existing morbidity. In addition, the use of immunosuppressants like methotrexate, azathioprine, cyclosporine, or biologics carries a risk of reactivation of persisters (Mycobacterium leprae), apart from their own end-organ toxicities. Most ENL therapeutic guidelines are primarily designed for acute episodes and there is scarcity of literature on management of patients with chronic and recurrent ENL. It is difficult to predict which patients will develop chronic or recurrent ENL and plan the treatment accordingly. We need simple point-of-care or ELISA-based tests from blood or skin biopsy samples, which can help us in identifying patients who are likely to require prolonged treatment and also inform us about the prognosis of reactions so that appropriate therapy may be started and continued for better ENL control in such patients. There is a significant unmet need for research for better understanding the immunopathogenesis of, and biomarkers for, ENL to improve clinical stratification and therapeutics. In this review we will discuss the potential of neutrophils (polymorphonuclear granulocytes) as putative diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers by virtue of their universal abundance in human blood, functional versatility, phenotypic heterogeneity, metabolic plasticity, differential hierarchical cytoplasmic granule mobilization, and their ability to form NETs (neutrophil extracellular traps). We will touch upon the various aspects of neutrophil biology relevant to ENL pathophysiology in a step-wise manner. We also hypothesize about an element of metabolic reprogramming of neutrophils by M. leprae that could be investigated and exploited for biomarker discovery. In the end, a potential role for neutrophil derived exosomes as a novel biomarker for ENL will also be explored.
Keywords: ENL; NETs; biology; biomarker; exosomes; neutrophils; reprogramming.
Copyright © 2021 Sahu, Sharma, Sharma, Narang, Dogra, Minz and Chhabra.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Neutrophilic leukocytosis and erythema nodosum leprosum in leprosy: insights from a retrospective observational study.Front Immunol. 2024 Jul 12;15:1368460. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1368460. eCollection 2024. Front Immunol. 2024. PMID: 39072336 Free PMC article.
-
Whole blood transcriptomics reveals the enrichment of neutrophil activation pathways during erythema nodosum leprosum reaction.Front Immunol. 2024 Apr 23;15:1366125. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1366125. eCollection 2024. Front Immunol. 2024. PMID: 38715615 Free PMC article.
-
Clinico-pathological features of erythema nodosum leprosum: A case-control study at ALERT hospital, Ethiopia.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017 Oct 13;11(10):e0006011. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006011. eCollection 2017 Oct. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017. PMID: 29028793 Free PMC article.
-
The role of thalidomide in the management of erythema nodosum leprosum.Lepr Rev. 2007 Sep;78(3):197-215. Lepr Rev. 2007. PMID: 18035771 Review.
-
Neutrophils in Leprosy.Front Immunol. 2019 Mar 19;10:495. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00495. eCollection 2019. Front Immunol. 2019. PMID: 30949168 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Neutrophilic leukocytosis and erythema nodosum leprosum in leprosy: insights from a retrospective observational study.Front Immunol. 2024 Jul 12;15:1368460. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1368460. eCollection 2024. Front Immunol. 2024. PMID: 39072336 Free PMC article.
-
Whole blood transcriptomics reveals the enrichment of neutrophil activation pathways during erythema nodosum leprosum reaction.Front Immunol. 2024 Apr 23;15:1366125. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1366125. eCollection 2024. Front Immunol. 2024. PMID: 38715615 Free PMC article.
-
Pathogenicity and virulence of Mycobacterium leprae.Virulence. 2022 Dec;13(1):1985-2011. doi: 10.1080/21505594.2022.2141987. Virulence. 2022. PMID: 36326715 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Diagnostic Value of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio, Lymphocyte-to-Monocyte Ratio, and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in the Diagnosis of Erythema Nodosum Leprosum: A Retrospective Study.Trop Med Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 2;7(3):39. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed7030039. Trop Med Infect Dis. 2022. PMID: 35324586 Free PMC article.
-
Antimicrobial Activity of Neutrophils Against Mycobacteria.Front Immunol. 2021 Dec 23;12:782495. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.782495. eCollection 2021. Front Immunol. 2021. PMID: 35003097 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Walker SL, Lockwood DNJ. Leprosy type 1 reactions and erythema nodosum leprosum. Artig Revisao. (2008) 83:75–82. 10.1590/S0365-05962008000100010 - DOI
Publication types
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources