Skin-specific antibodies neutralizing mycolactone toxin during the spontaneous healing of Mycobacterium ulcerans infection.

ABSTRACT: Buruli ulcer, a neglected tropical infectious disease, is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. Without treatment, its lesions can progress to chronic skin ulcers, but spontaneous healing is observed in 5% of cases, suggesting the possible establishment of a host strategy counteracting the effects of M. ulcerans. We reveal here a skin-specific local humoral signature of the spontaneous healing process, associated with a rise in antibody-producing cells and specific recognition of mycolactone by the mouse IgG2a immunoglobulin subclass. We demonstrate the production of skin-specific antibodies neutralizing the immunomodulatory activity of the mycolactone toxin, and confirm the role of human host machinery in triggering effective local immune responses by the detection of anti-mycol

SUBMITTER: Foulon M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7043917 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature