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Experimental Infection of Balb/c Mice with Leishmania panamensis and Leishmania mexicana : Induction of Early IFN‐γ but not IL‐4 is Associated with the Development of Cutaneous Lesions
Author(s) -
GUEVARAMENDOZA O.,
UNE C.,
FRANCESCHI CARREIRA P.,
ÖRN A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3083.1997.d01-96.x
Subject(s) - leishmania mexicana , cutaneous leishmaniasis , leishmania , immunology , balb/c , leishmania major , biology , leishmaniasis , medicine , immune system , parasite hosting , world wide web , computer science
Resistance to the Leishmaniae is associated with interferon (IFN)‐γ mediated activation of macrophages. In this study, Balb/c mice were infected with three Leishmania strains that cause progressively growing cutaneous lesions without obvious dissemination; L. mexicana mexicana giving rise to rapidly growing lesions, and L. (Viannia) panamensis and L. mexicana ‐like, which both cause slowly developing lesions. The rate of lesion growth was compared to induction of early local and systemic IFN‐γ responses. All the three parasite strains induced increased levels of IFN‐γ transcripts 24 h after infection. Infection with the more aggressive strain resulted in a notably lower IFN‐γ response when compared to infection with the two low pathogenic strains. Interleukin‐4 (IL‐4) mRNA appeared 7 days after infection with L. (Viannia) panamensis and L. mexicana ‐like but not with L. mexicana mexicana . Thus, virulence of these Leishmania strains could not be associated with induction of IL‐4 during the first week after infection. In addition, none of the Leishmania strains induced detectable mRNA for IL‐12 or inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). These data present a picture somewhat different from that which has been described in L. major experimental infection.