Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Nitric oxide and Mycobacterium leprae pathogenicity.

Paolo Visca1, Giulia Fabozzi, Mario Milani

  • 1Department of Biology, University Roma Tre, Viale G. Marconi 446, I-00146 Rome, Italy.

IUBMB Life
|December 20, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Leprosy, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, faces host defenses like oxidative stress. This bacterium

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Structure, substrate recognition and therapeutic targeting of the human ADAMTS-5 spacer domain.

Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology·2025
Same author

Structural basis of Nuclear Factor 1-X DNA recognition provides prototypic insight into the NFI family.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Chronic sublethal exposure to methylmercury lengthens telomeres in developing zebra finches.

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)·2025
Same author

Identification of new selective CD36 inhibitors to potentiate HER2-targeted therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Scientific reports·2025
Same author

Aryl Guanyl Hydrazones: A Viable Strategy for Designing BBB-Permeable, Neuroactive Compounds?

ACS chemical neuroscience·2025
Same author

Mechanistic understanding of UvrA damage detection and lesion hand-off to UvrB in Nucleotide Excision Repair.

Nature communications·2025

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae.
  • The host environment presents challenges to M. leprae, including oxidative stress and nitric oxide (NO) release.
  • M. leprae exhibits significant gene decay, indicative of reductive genome evolution and adaptation to a parasitic lifestyle.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the genomic adaptations of Mycobacterium leprae in response to the host environment.
  • To understand the susceptibility of M. leprae to host-derived reactive nitrogen species.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative genomics analysis of M. leprae.
  • Examination of gene loss related to detoxification pathways.
  • Assessment of the reactivity of M. leprae's truncated hemoglobin.

Main Results:

  • M. leprae has lost many genes for detoxifying reactive oxygen and nitrogen species compared to related mycobacteria.
  • The bacterium's unique truncated hemoglobin shows very low reactivity.
  • These genomic features may explain M. leprae's susceptibility to NO.

Conclusions:

  • The reduced detoxification capacity and low hemoglobin reactivity contribute to Mycobacterium leprae's vulnerability to host nitric oxide.
  • Genomic reductive evolution in M. leprae is linked to its parasitic lifestyle and susceptibility to host immune responses.

Related Experiment Videos