Vibrio cholerae, the cause of
cholera, induces both innate and adaptive immune responses in infected humans.
Leptin is a
hormone that plays a role in both metabolism and mediating immune responses. We characterized
leptin levels in 11 children with
cholera in Bangladesh, assessing
leptin levels on days 2, 7, 30, and 180 following
cholera. We found that patients at the acute stage of
cholera had significantly lower plasma
leptin levels than matched controls, and compared with levels in late
convalescence. We then assessed immune responses to V. cholerae
antigens in 74 children with
cholera, correlating these responses to plasma
leptin levels on day 2 of illness. In multivariate analysis, we found an association between day 2
leptin levels and development of later anti-
cholera toxin B subunit (CtxB) responses. This finding appeared to be limited to children with better nutritional status. Interestingly, we found no association between
leptin levels and antibody responses to V. cholerae
lipopolysaccharide, a T cell-independent
antigen. Our results suggest that
leptin levels may be associated with
cholera, including the development of immune responses to T cell-dependent
antigens.