title: 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.
abstract: The various cytokine responses associated with stimulation by parasites is discussed with emphasis on Leishmania parasites. Cells from normal individuals can respond to Leishmania antigens 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-gamma 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: H O
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Akuffo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007891:Leishmania / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D016207:Cytokines; D015850:Interleukin-6; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma