Increased capacity for interleukin-2 synthesis parallels disease progression in mice infected with Leishmania major.
Lymph node cells of BALB/c mice with progressive leishmaniasis produced sixfold more interleukin-2 (IL-2) in culture than those of healing C57BL/6 mice. IL-2 synthesis also increased in C57BL/6 mice made susceptible by IL-12 or gamma interferon deficiency. However, IL-2 mRNA levels in vivo did not reflect IL-2 production in vitro. Because IL-2 contributes to the pathogenesis of progressive leishmaniasis, the functional significance of these findings should be further explored.
Division of Geographic Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA. fxh10@po.cwru.edu
F P
FP
Heinzel
R M
RM
Rerko
A M
AM
Hujer
R A
RA
Maier
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D018320:Leishmania major / Q000276:immunology*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology
D007376:Interleukin-2; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma