Resumo:
The lymphocytes from eight patients with active visceral leishmaniasis
(VL), a disease associated with marked immunologic
dysfunction, were examined for ability to produce interleukin 2
(IL-2) and gamma interferon during in vitro cultivation. It was
found that both IL-2 and gamma interferon production, in response
to leishmania antigen, was absent during the active disease,
but was restored after successful chemotherapy. Untreated
VL patients produced IL-2 and gamma interferon when stimulated
with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Six patients with either
active cutaneous or mucosal leishmaniasis, a disease not associated
with immunosuppression, showed high levels of gamma
interferon in response to leishmania antigen and PHA. Since
IL-2 and gamma interferon have been shown to have important
roles in the immune response and in the killing of leishmania,
their absence may represent a key defect in the immune response
in VL.
