FIGURE 6.

M. leprae viability in Schwann cells is dependent on the pentose pathway. A, the G6PDH inhibitor 6-ANAM recovers lactate production in M. leprae-infected Schwann cells. B, mitochondrial membrane potential, determined by the ratio of TMRM/TMRM + CCCP fluorescence signal by flow cytometry, was also recovered in infected Schwann cells by 6-ANAM and rifampicin. C, M. leprae intracellular viability was determined by real-time PCR 16S rRNA quantification. Schwann cells exposed to 6-ANAM or BSO were not able to maintain M. leprae infection in vitro for 5 days, similar to results in rifampicin. D, M. leprae viability was similarly impaired by G6PDH siRNA knockdown, after 2 days of infection. The results are expressed as the mean ± S.E. from three normalized independent biological replicates. Statistical significance was calculated by ANOVA followed by Bonferroni test where: ***, p < 0.0001; **, p < 0.001; and *, p < 0.01 in comparison to controls or between conditions when indicated.