Cytokines in leprosy, I. Serum cytokine profile in leprosy.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical forms depending on the patient's immune response, in particular cell-mediated immune response.

METHODS:

Cytokines can play a role in the cell-mediated immune response. Serum levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R), interleukin-10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 55 untreated leprosy patients and 35 reactional leprosy patients, in addition to 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls.

RESULTS:

Leprosy patients showed significantly higher serum levels of the studied cytokines (except IL-2) compared with healthy controls. When the two poles were compared, tuberculoid leprosy (TT) patients showed significantly higher levels of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha with significant negative correlations with the bacterial index (BI), whereas lepromatous leprosy (LL) patients showed significantly higher serum levels of IL-2R, IL-10, and IL-1beta with significant positive correlations with the BI. Both type I and type II reactional patients showed significantly higher serum IFN-gamma, IL-2R, and IL-1beta, in addition to IL-10 in type II reactional patients, compared with nonreactional leprosy patients. When compared with each other, type I reactional patients showed increased levels of IFN-gamma, whereas type II reactional patients showed increased levels of IL-10.

CONCLUSIONS:

In leprosy patients, both IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha are immunoprotective, whereas IL-2R, IL-10, and IL-1beta are immunosuppressive. Our results indicate that type I reaction, with increased levels of IFN-gamma, is a cell-mediated immune response, whereas type II reaction, with increased levels of IL-10, is essentially an immune complex disease.

• Authors: A D Moubasher, N A Kamel, H Zedan, D D Raheem
• Journal: International journal of dermatology (Int J Dermatol) Vol. 37 Issue 10 Pg. 733-40 (Oct 1998) ISSN: 0011-9059 [Print] England
• PMID: 9802682 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Cytokines
• Interleukin-1
• Interleukin-2
• Receptors, Interleukin-2
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• Interleukin-10
• Interferon-gamma

Topics

• Cytokines (blood)
• Female
• Humans
• Interferon-gamma (blood)
• Interleukin-1 (blood)
• Interleukin-10 (blood)
• Interleukin-2 (blood)
• Leprosy (blood)
• Leprosy, Borderline (blood)
• Leprosy, Lepromatous (blood)
• Leprosy, Tuberculoid (blood)
• Male
• Receptors, Interleukin-2 (blood)
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (metabolism)