ArticleInfection and immunity2008
Mycolactone is responsible for the painlessness of Mycobacterium ulcerans infection (buruli ulcer) in a murine study.
Article in Infection and immunity, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- A need for null models in understanding disease transmission: the example of Mycobacterium ulcerans (Buruli ulcer disease).FEMS microbiology reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Comparative analysis of Buruli ulcer in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire: A cross-sectional study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Review
- Experimental infection of ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) with Mycobacterium ulcerans, the agent of Buruli ulcer.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Memory B-cells are enriched in the blood of patients with acute Buruli ulcer disease: a prospective observational study.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Observational
- Mycolactone: A Broad Spectrum Multitarget Antiviral Active in the Picomolar Range for COVID-19 Prevention and Cure.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Protective Efficacy of BCG Vaccine againstVaccines · 2022Review
- Sec61 complex/translocon: The role of an atypical ER CaFrontiers in physiology · 2022Review
- Analysis of key genes inFrontiers in tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Conditions for Handling and Optimal Storage of Mycolactone.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2022Article
- The One That Got Away: How Macrophage-Derived IL-1β Escapes the Mycolactone-Dependent Sec61 Blockade in Buruli Ulcer.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Article
- Mycolactone toxin induces an inflammatory response by targeting the IL-1β pathway: Mechanistic insight into Buruli ulcer pathophysiology.PLoS pathogens · 2020Article
- Pharmacologic management ofExpert review of clinical pharmacology · 2020Review
- Signaling Natural Products from Human Pathogenic Bacteria.ACS infectious diseases · 2020Review
- Review
- Article
- Developing Modern Pain Therapies.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Review
- Mycolactone as Analgesic: Subcutaneous Bioavailability Parameters.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2019Article
- Naturally occurring a loss of a giant plasmid from Mycobacterium ulcerans subsp. shinshuense makes it non-pathogenic.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Buruli Ulcer, a Prototype for Ecosystem-Related Infection, Caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Buruli ulcer is a chronic skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, which produces a toxic lipid mycolactone. Despite the extensive necrosis and tissue damage, the lesions are painless. This absence of pain prevents patients from seeking early treatment and, as a result, many patients experience severe sequelae, including limb amputation. We have reported that mice inoculated with M. ulcerans show loss of pain sensation and nerve degeneration. However, the molecules responsible for the nerve damage have not been identified. In order to clarify whether mycolactone alone can induce nerve damage, mycolactone A/B was injected to footpads of BALB/c mice. A total of 100 microg of mycolactone induced footpad swelling, redness, and erosion. The von Frey sensory test showed hyperesthesia on day 7, recovery on day 21, and hypoesthesia on day 28. Histologically, the footpads showed epidermal erosion, moderate stromal edema, and moderate neutrophilic infiltration up to day 14, which gradually resolved. Nerve bundles showed intraneural hemorrhage, neutrophilic infiltration, and loss of Schwann cell nuclei on days 7 and 14. Ultrastructurally, vacuolar change of myelin started on day 14 and gradually subsided by day 42, but the density of myelinated fibers remained low. This study demonstrated that initial hyperesthesia is followed by sensory recovery and final hypoesthesia. Our present study suggests that mycolactone directly damages nerves and is responsible for the absence of pain characteristic of Buruli ulcer. Furthermore, mice injected with 200 microg of mycolactone showed pulmonary hemorrhage. This is the first study to demonstrate the systemic effects of mycolactone.
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Registered trials
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