Despite being treatable, leprosy still represents a major public health problem, and many mechanisms that drive leprosy immunopathogenesis still need to be elucidated. B cells play important roles in immune defense, being classified in different subgroups that present distinct roles in the immune response. Here, the profile of B cell subpopulations in peripheral blood of patients with paucibacillary (TT/BT), multibacillary (LL/BL) and erythema nodosum leprosum was analyzed. B cell subpopulations (memory, transition, plasmablasts, and mature B cells) and levels of IgG were analyzed by flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively. It was observed that Mycobacterium leprae infection can alter the proportions of B cell subpopulations (increase of mature and decrease of memory B cells) in patients affected by leprosy. This modulation is associated with an increase in total IgG and the patient’s clinical condition. Circulating B cells may be acting in the modulation of the immune response in patients with various forms of leprosy, which may reflect the patient’s ability to respond to M. leprae.

尽管可以治疗，麻风病仍然是一个主要的公共卫生问题，并且驱动麻风病免疫发病机制的许多机制仍然需要阐明。 B 细胞在免疫防御中发挥着重要作用，被分为不同的亚组，在免疫反应中发挥不同的作用。本研究分析了少杆菌 (TT/BT)、多杆菌 (LL/BL) 和麻风结节性红斑患者外周血中 B 细胞亚群的概况。分别通过流式细胞术和 ELISA 分析 B 细胞亚群（记忆细胞、过渡细胞、浆母细胞和成熟 B 细胞）和 IgG 水平。据观察，麻风分枝杆菌感染可以改变麻风病患者 B 细胞亚群的比例（成熟 B 细胞增加，记忆 B 细胞减少）。这种调节与总 IgG 的增加和患者的临床状况有关。循环 B 细胞可能在调节各种形式麻风病患者的免疫反应中发挥作用，这可能反映了患者对免疫反应的反应能力。麻风分枝杆菌。