{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T05:58:33Z","timestamp":1779256713620,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]],"date-time":"2024-11-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1731369600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo \u00e0 Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)","award":["E_18\/2022CNE"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["E_18\/2022CNE"]}]},{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo \u00e0 Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)","award":["303051\/2021-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["303051\/2021-3"]}]},{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo \u00e0 Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)","award":["307474\/2020-8"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["307474\/2020-8"]}]},{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo \u00e0 Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)","award":["001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["001"]}]},{"name":"Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) Edital Inova IOC, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico (CNPq)","award":["E_18\/2022CNE"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["E_18\/2022CNE"]}]},{"name":"Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) Edital Inova IOC, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico (CNPq)","award":["303051\/2021-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["303051\/2021-3"]}]},{"name":"Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) Edital Inova IOC, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico (CNPq)","award":["307474\/2020-8"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["307474\/2020-8"]}]},{"name":"Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) Edital Inova IOC, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient\u00edfico e Tecnol\u00f3gico (CNPq)","award":["001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["001"]}]},{"name":"Coordena\u00e7\u00e3o de Aperfei\u00e7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00edvel Superior\u2013Brasil (CAPES)","award":["E_18\/2022CNE"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["E_18\/2022CNE"]}]},{"name":"Coordena\u00e7\u00e3o de Aperfei\u00e7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00edvel Superior\u2013Brasil (CAPES)","award":["303051\/2021-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["303051\/2021-3"]}]},{"name":"Coordena\u00e7\u00e3o de Aperfei\u00e7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00edvel Superior\u2013Brasil (CAPES)","award":["307474\/2020-8"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["307474\/2020-8"]}]},{"name":"Coordena\u00e7\u00e3o de Aperfei\u00e7oamento de Pessoal de N\u00edvel Superior\u2013Brasil (CAPES)","award":["001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["001"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Throughout Mycobacterium leprae\u2019s (M. leprae) evolutionary trajectory, nearly half of its genome was converted into pseudogenes. Despite this drastic reduction in genetic content, the genome sequence identity among M. leprae isolates worldwide is remarkably high compared to other pathogens. In this study, we investigated the genotype and morphotype of three M. leprae strains: the reference strain Thai-53 (genotype 1A), and two clinical isolates from Brazilian leprosy relapse patients, which were Br014-03 (genotypes 3I) and Br014-01(4N). We compared their genome sequences and their interaction with human Schwann cells from the ST88-14 lineage and with human primary macrophages. On the genetic level, we observed over a hundred missense mutations in the three strains, translated into significant phenotypic changes such as: prolonged doubling time, altered cytokine induction, reduced interaction rates, and decreased intracellular viability in Schwann cells. Our findings underscore the concept that despite their 99.992% identity, even small genomic disparities in M. leprae genomes can elicit substantial alterations in bacilli interaction with host cells and subsequent immune responses. Consequently, our data could lead to better comprehension of correlation between pathogen mutations and the diverse clinical manifestations observed in leprosy patients.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens13110986","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]],"date-time":"2024-11-12T08:12:39Z","timestamp":1731399159000},"page":"986","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Genomic and Phenotypic Variations Among Thai-53 and Mycobacterium leprae Clinical Isolates: Implications for Leprosy Pathogenesis and Research"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Tiago Araujo","family":"Gomes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Microbiologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"},{"name":"Rede de Micobact\u00e9rias, Programa Inova-IOC, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tatiana Pereira","family":"da Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rede de Micobact\u00e9rias, Programa Inova-IOC, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Hansen\u00edase, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7585-0005","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edson","family":"Machado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rede de Micobact\u00e9rias, Programa Inova-IOC, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Biologia Molecular Aplicada a Micobact\u00e9rias, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6983-1310","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sidra Ezidio Gon\u00e7alves","family":"Vasconcelos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rede de Micobact\u00e9rias, Programa Inova-IOC, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Biologia Molecular Aplicada a Micobact\u00e9rias, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4172-2670","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bruno Siqueira","family":"Mietto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Neurobiologia, Instituto de Ci\u00eancias Biol\u00f3gicas, Universidade de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36036-900, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Daniela Ferreira","family":"de Faria Bertoluci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Divis\u00e3o de Pesquisa e Ensino, Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima, Bauru 17034-971, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Patricia Sammarco","family":"Rosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Divis\u00e3o de Pesquisa e Ensino, Instituto Lauro de Souza Lima, Bauru 17034-971, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8471-4227","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberta Olmo","family":"Pinheiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rede de Micobact\u00e9rias, Programa Inova-IOC, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Hansen\u00edase, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8527-9300","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Philip Noel","family":"Suffys","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rede de Micobact\u00e9rias, Programa Inova-IOC, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"},{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Biologia Molecular Aplicada a Micobact\u00e9rias, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5733-8294","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Let\u00edcia Miranda Santos","family":"Lery","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Microbiologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2717-6597","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Flavio Alves","family":"Lara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laborat\u00f3rio de Microbiologia Celular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"},{"name":"Rede de Micobact\u00e9rias, Programa Inova-IOC, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2023). 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