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Science 3 May 2002:
Vol. 296. no. 5569, pp. 862 - 863
DOI: 10.1126/science.1072444
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Perspectives

MICROBIOLOGY:
Subversion of Schwann Cells and the Leper's Bell

Peter J. Brophy

Leprosy has been the scourge of humanity for thousands of years, yet we still know very little about the pathogenesis of this tragic disease. In his Perspective, Brophy explains exciting new findings (Rambukkana et al.) that reveal how the bacterium causing this disease, M. leprae, instigates demyelination of peripheral nerves without the help of the immune system, and subverts the attempts of myelinating Schwann cells to repair the damage.

The author is in the Department of Preclinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1QH, UK. E-mail: peter.brophy{at}ed.ac.uk

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Insights into regulation of human Schwann cell proliferation by Erk1/2 via a MEK-independent and p56Lck-dependent pathway from leprosy bacilli.
N. Tapinos and A. Rambukkana (2005)
PNAS 102, 9188-9193
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)