Background: Nerve damage is a common and disabling feature of leprosy, with unclear aetiology. It has been reported that the peroxidizing agents of myelin lipids-nitric oxide (NO) and peroxynitrite-are produced in leprosy skin lesions.
Objectives: To investigate the localization of nitrotyrosine (NT)-a local end-product of peroxynitrite-in leprosy lesions where dermal nerves are affected by a granulomatous reaction.
Methods: We investigated by immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy the localization of the inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and NT in biopsies exhibiting dermal nerves from patients with untreated leprosy.
Results: There were abundant NT-positive and iNOS-positive macrophages in the borderline leprosy granulomas infiltrating peripheral nerves identified by light microscopy, S-100 and neurofilament immunostaining. Immunoelectron microscopy showed NT reactivity in neurofilament aggregates and in the cell wall of Mycobacterium leprae.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that NO and peroxynitrite could be involved in the nerve damage following borderline leprosy.