Comparison of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines of Non-Healing and Healing Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Publisher Pubmed

Summary: Research shows higher cytokine levels help control cutaneous leishmaniasis, suggesting immune response is key to healing. #InfectiousDisease #Immunology

Moafi M¹ ; Rezvan H¹ ; Sherkat R² ; Taleban R² ; Asilian A³ ; Hamid Zarkeshesfahani S⁴ ; Nilforoushzadeh MA⁵ ; Jaffary F³ ; Mansourian M⁶ ; Sokhanvari F³ ; Ansari N³
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Immunology Published:2017

Abstract

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) heals spontaneously within several weeks or months, but, in rare cases, CL-active lesions last for many years. In this study, we assessed cell-mediated immunity in non-healing CL through the measurement of three pro-inflammatory cytokines: Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-17a and CXCL-11. For this, 32 patients afflicted with healing or non-healing CL were recruited in this study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of every patient were treated with three antigens: purified protein derivative (PPD), soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA) and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). Cytokine quantification was performed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Results of our study showed that neither cytokine produced in the presence of a PPD stimulator (as an irrelevant antigen) significantly differed between the healing and non-healing groups (P-value ≥0.05 for all of them). However, IFN-γ, CXCL-11 and IL-17a levels produced in the presence of PHA or SLA were significantly higher within the healing than in the non-healing group (P-value <0.01 for all of them). It seems that appropriate levels of IFN-γ, as well as IL-17a and CXCL-11, contribute to the control of Leishmania infection. © 2017 The Foundation for the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology