IMMT and leprosy: The OPA1 gene, which encodes a mitochondrial inner membrane protein, has been associated with leprosy susceptibility possibly by affecting mitochondrial function and antimicrobial pathways, and studies identified two OPA1 variants that showed a positive association with increased risk for leprosy (rs414237), where it correlated with lower OPA1 mRNA expression, suggesting that the susceptibility phenotype is attributable to the loss of OPA1 [8,36].