Comparison of pro‐inflammatory cytokines of non‐healing and healing cutaneous leishmaniasis

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of immunology Vol. 85; no. 4; pp. 291 - 299
• Main Authors: Moafi, M., Rezvan, H., Sherkat, R., Taleban, R., Asilian, A., Hamid Zarkesh‐Esfahani, S., Nilforoushzadeh, M. A., Jaffary, F., Mansourian, M., Sokhanvari, F., Ansari, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2017
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Antigens, Protozoan - immunology; Chemokine CXCL11 - blood; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Interferon-gamma - blood; Interleukin-17 - blood; Leishmania; Leishmania - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - blood; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - parasitology; Male; Middle Aged; Phytohemagglutinins - immunology; Tuberculin - immunology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0300-9475; 1365-3083
• DOI: 10.1111/sji.12534

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.