We evaluated the antimicrobial activity and some mechanisms used by subinhibitory and inhibitory concentrations of the essential oil, obtained from leaves of Plectranthus amboinicus, against a standard strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae and 5 multiresistant clinical isolates of the bacteria. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC), the rate of kill and the pH sensitivity of the essential oil were determined by microdilution tests performed in 96-well plates. Subinhibitory and inhibitory concentrations of the essential oil were tested in order to check its action on K. pneumoniae membrane permeability, capsule expression, urease activity and cell morphology. The MIC and MBC of the essential oil were 0.09 ± 0.01%. A complete inhibition of the bacterial growth was observed after 2 h of incubation with twice the MIC of the essential oil. A better MIC was found when neutral or alkaline pH broth was used. Alteration in membrane permeability was found by the increase of crystal violet uptake when the bacteria were incubated with twice the MIC levels of the essential oil. The urease activity could be prevented when all the subinhibitory concentrations were tested in comparison to the untreated group (p < 0.001). Alteration of the bacterial morphology besides inhibition of the capsule expression was verified by atomic force microscopy, and Anthony's stain method, respectively. Our data allow us to conclude that the essential oil of P. amboinicus can be a good candidate for future research.

We strongly suggest that serum IgG/IgM and salivary anti-PGL1 IgA/IgM measurements are used to follow leprosy household contacts.

BackgroundLeprosy is a chronic disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, which poses a serious public health problem worldwide. Its high incidence in people under 15 years old in Ceará state, Brazil, reflects the difficulty of its control. The spectrum of clinical manifestations is associated with the immune response developed, with the Th1 and Th2 responses being related to the paucibacillary and multibacillary forms, respectively. Regulatory T cells (Treg), which can suppress Th1 and Th2 response, have received special attention in the literature and have been associated with development of chronic infections. However, their role in leprosy in individuals under 15 years old has not yet been elucidated. We evaluated the frequency of CD4+/CD8+CD25highFOXP3+ and CD4+/CD8+CD25highFOXP3high cells in leprosy patients and household contacts, in both cases under 15 years old.Methodology/Principal FindingsPBMC from 12 patients and 17 contacts were cultured for 72 hours with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 (activators) or with activators associated with total sonicated fraction of M. leprae. After culture, the frequency of CD4+/CD8+ Treg was identified by flow cytometry. Cells stimulated by activators and antigen from multibacillary patients showed Treg frequencies almost two times that of the contacts: CD4+FOXP3+ (21.93±8.43 vs. 13.79±8.19%, p = 0.0500), CD4+FOXP3high (10.33±5.69 vs. 5.57±4.03%, p = 0.0362), CD8+FOXP3+ (13.88±9.19 vs. 6.18±5.56%, p = 0.0230) and CD8+FOXP3high (5.36±4.17 vs. 2.23±2.68%, p = 0.0461). Furthermore, the mean fluorescence intensity of FOXP3 in Treg was higher in multibacillary patients than in the contacts. Interestingly, there was a positive correlation of the bacillary index and number of lesions with the frequency of all Treg evaluated in patients.Conclusions/SignificanceWe have demonstrated for the first time that multibacillary leprosy patients under 15 years old have greater CD4+ and CD8+ Treg frequencies and these correlate with clinical and laboratorial aspects of disease. These findings suggest the involvement of these cells in the perpetuation of M. leprae infection.

Despite the limiting factors, anti-PGL1 IgA correlates to IgM levels and it could be considered as a possible laboratorial tool to be also used, for instance, in serological follow-up studies.