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. 2018 May 7;9:939. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00939

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Copyright © 2018 Aarão, de Sousa, Falcão, Falcão and Quaresma.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Possible biological role of nerve growth factor (NGF) in the pathogenesis of leprosy. Higher levels of NGF are associated with lepromatous forms, and this increased NGF expression stimulates the expression of TGF-β, which reduce tissue damage resulting from nerve injury. Moreover, NGF restore sensitivity and exerts proliferative and antiapoptotic effects on keratinocytes and endothelial cells. Low levels of NGF are associated with tuberculoid forms and this low expression of NGF stimulates the expression of TNF-α which may contribute to the evolution of neural lesions. Low levels of NGF may also contribute to the development of neuropathy, such as sensitivity loss, nerve demyelination, and degeneration.