T cell response of asymptomatic Leishmania chagasi infected subjects to recombinant leishmania antigens.

In areas of Leishmania chagasi transmission the ability to control leishmania infection is associated with IFN-gamma production. In visceral leishmaniasis down-regulation of T cell responses is mediated by interleukin-10 (IL-10). In this study we evaluated the lymphoproliferative response, IFN-gamma and IL-10 production on lymphocyte cultures stimulated with recombinant leishmania antigens in subjects with asymptomatic L. chagasi infection. There was a statistically significant difference in the lymphoproliferative response of the subjects with asymptomatic infection as compared to patients with visceral leishmaniasis and healthy subjects with respect to crude antigens (p<0.01), gp-63 (p<0.05) and hsp-70 (p<0. 01), as well as between asymptomatic L. chagasi infected subjects and patients with visceral leishmaniasis with respect to the response to all antigens tested. The IFN-gamma production observed in the group with asymptomatic infection with all the three recombinant antigens tested was higher (p<0.01) than that observed in patients with visceral leishmaniasis and in healthy subjects. Furthermore, in individuals with asymptomatic infection, IL-10 levels in cultures stimulated with recombinant antigens were very low. This study shows that lymphocytes from individuals with asymptomatic L. chagasi infection are able to recognize recombinant leishmania antigens with production of a cytokine that is associated with leishmania killing.