Differential inflammatory responses associated with Leishmania major and L tropica in culture.
BACKGROUND
Anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) due to Leishmania tropica and zoonotic CL (ZCL) due to L major have different clinical and epidemiological features.


OBJECTIVES
To determine whether pro-inflammatory cytokines are involved in diverse pathogenicity of Leishmania species causing CL.


PATIENTS/METHODS
The capacity of L major/L tropica to modulate expression of IL-1β, IL-8 (CXCL8), IFN-γ, TNF-α and MCP-1 (CCL2) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR technique.


RESULTS
PBMCs from both ZCL and ACL cases expressed significantly higher IFN-γ (P < .001) and TNF-α (P < .05) compared with healthy controls (HC). PBMCs from ACL patients expressed significantly higher IL-1β and IL-8 compared with ZCL patients and HC when stimulated with live L major or L tropica promastigotes (P < .001). After 4 and 10 hours, L major-infected MDMs expressed significantly higher IFN-γ (P < .05), and after 10 hours, L tropica-infected MDMs expressed significantly higher IL-1β, IFN-γ and IL-8 compared with noninfected cells (P < .05).


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows differential parasite-mediated stimulations of the inflammatory response with L major vs L tropica ex vivo. Pro-inflammatory cytokines particularly IL-8 (CXCL8) and IL-1β might contribute in diverse clinical features of CL such as longer duration of lesion persistence in ACL patients.
['Darzi|Fatemeh|F|', 'Davoudian|Roshanak|R|', 'Nateghi Rostami|Mahmoud|M|0000-0003-4317-7271']
D016207:Cytokines D006801:Humans D018320:Leishmania major D007895:Leishmania tropica D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear
Leishmania major cutaneous leishmaniasis Leishmania tropica pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β interleukin-8