ArticleCell2013
Reprogramming adult Schwann cells to stem cell-like cells by leprosy bacilli promotes dissemination of infection.
Article in Cell, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 112 papers.
What it found
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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
112 citing papers in PubMed.
- miRNome Expression Analysis Reveals New Players on Leprosy Immune Physiopathology.Frontiers in immunology · 2018Trial
- Revisiting Pluripotency Acquisition: A Unified Framework for Reprogramming Strategies.Development, growth & differentiation · 2026Review
- A One Health digital twin framework for leprosy: linking host, pathogen, and population dynamics.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2026Article
- Biomimetic Core-Sheath GelMA/PCL Nanofibers for Enhanced Peripheral Nerve Regeneration.Polymers · 2026Article
- Novel Functions and Potential of Ribosomes: From Cellular Transdifferentiation to Applications in Cell-Cultured Foods.Journal of developmental biology · 2026Review
- Article
- Conserved chromatin regulators control the transcriptional immune response to intracellular pathogens in Caenorhabditis elegans.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Schwann cells in regeneration and cancer: an epithelial-mesenchymal transition perspective.Open biology · 2025Review
- Opportunities and challenges of bacterial extracellular vesicles in regenerative medicine.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2025Review
- Exploring the Neurological Manifestations of Leprosy: Clinical Insights and Implications.Cureus · 2025Review
- The Neurological Impact of Leprosy: Manifestations and Treatment Approaches.Neurology international · 2024Review
- Use of an inertial sensor and a force platform to assess static balance in participants affected by multibacillary leprosy.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Observational
- Human Skin as an Ex Vivo Model for MaintainingTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2024Article
- p53 modulates kinase inhibitor resistance and lineage plasticity in NF1-related MPNSTs.Oncogene · 2024Article
- Review
- Leprosy: treatment, prevention, immune response and gene function.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Adenosine AFrontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- What happens when Schwann cells are exposed toIBRO neuroscience reports · 2023Review
- Mitf is a Schwann cell sensor of axonal integrity that drives nerve repair.Cell reports · 2023Article
- Single-cell sequencing analysis reveals development and differentiation trajectory of Schwann cells manipulated by M. leprae.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
52 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Differentiated cells possess a remarkable genomic plasticity that can be manipulated to reverse or change developmental commitments. Here, we show that the leprosy bacterium hijacks this property to reprogram adult Schwann cells, its preferred host niche, to a stage of progenitor/stem-like cells (pSLC) of mesenchymal trait by downregulating Schwann cell lineage/differentiation-associated genes and upregulating genes mostly of mesoderm development. Reprogramming accompanies epigenetic changes and renders infected cells highly plastic, migratory, and immunomodulatory. We provide evidence that acquisition of these properties by pSLC promotes bacterial spread by two distinct mechanisms: direct differentiation to mesenchymal tissues, including skeletal and smooth muscles, and formation of granuloma-like structures and subsequent release of bacteria-laden macrophages. These findings support a model of host cell reprogramming in which a bacterial pathogen uses the plasticity of its cellular niche for promoting dissemination of infection and provide an unexpected link between cellular reprogramming and host-pathogen interaction.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.