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Cytokine Responses to Parasite Antigens: In Vitro Cytokine Production to Promastigotes of L. aethiopica by Cells from Non‐ Leishmania Exposed Donors may Influence Disease Establishment
Author(s) -
AKUFFO H. O.
Publication year - 1992
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 - 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1992.tb01642.x
Subject(s) - leishmania , biology , leishmania major , antigen , cytokine , in vitro , immunology , parasite hosting , intracellular parasite , stimulation , in vivo , microbiology and biotechnology , immune system , biochemistry , genetics , neuroscience , world wide web , computer science
The various cytokine responses associated with stimulation by parasites is discussed with emphasis on Leishmania parasites. Cells from normal individuals can respond to Leishmania antigen in vitro but the State of the antigen used for stimulation influences the outcome. We have used cells from non‐ Leishmania exposed donors and stimulated them in vitro with variously treated promastigotes of L. aethiopica. The levels of some cytokines released into the supernatant were measured. All the Leishmania preparations tested induced high levels of IL‐6. whereas IFN‐ γ production to the different stimuli was variable in the individual donors. The ability of these supernatants to inhibit intracellular forms of L. aethiopica was sometimes stronger in L. aethiopica ‐induced than in PHA‐induced cultures. Such strong non‐ Leishmania specific responses, if they exist in vivo, may influence whether disease is established when the host encounters Leishmania parasites.