Interferon-gamma and interlukin-4 patterns in BALB/c mice suffering from cutaneous leishmaniasis treated with cantharidin.
BACKGROUND
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a health problem in the world. Lesions should be treated on cosmetically or functionally important sites, such as the face and hands. Cantharidin is a terpenoid compound produced naturally by beetles of Meloidae and Oedemeridae families.


OBJECTIVE
The current study aimed to investigate the effect of cantharidin on Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) lesions and IFN-γ and IL-4 patterns in infected BALB/c mice.


METHODS
INFECTED BALB/C MICE WERE DIVIDED INTO FIVE GROUPS AS: untreated (control group), eucerin-treated and 0.05%, 0.1% and 0.5% cantharidin-treated. Lesions diameter was measured by Vernier caliper every three days for four weeks. Cytokines levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using U-CyTech kit.


RESULTS
The results indicated that treatment with cantharidin exacerbates lesions compared with the controls, except for 0.05% cantharidin dose that restrained lesion growth significantly. Interferon gamma level in cantharidin-treated groups was significantly less than that of the control group. But interlukin-4 level was similar among the groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The current study results indicated that high doses of cantharidin exacerbates leishmaniasis lesion, but low dose of cantharidin inhibits lesion growth.
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, IR Iran.
Yahya
Y
Maroufi
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IR Iran.
Fatemeh
F
Ghaffarifar
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IR Iran.
Abdolhosein
A
Dalimi
Department of Virology, Iranian Blood Transfusion organization, Tehran, IR Iran.
Zohreh
Z
Sharifi
Cantharidin; Interferon-gamma; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous; Mice, Inbred BALB/c