d'Ettorre Gabriella, Ceccarelli Giancarlo, Carnevalini Martina, Forcina Gabriele, Zaffiri Lorenzo, Massetti Anna P, Mastroianni Claudio M, Vullo Vincenzo
Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, La Sapienza University, Polo Pontino, Viale Regina Elena 361, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Acta Trop. 2006 Aug;99(1):83-7. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2006.08.002. Epub 2006 Sep 11.
To evaluate clinical and immunological parameters, interleukin (IL)-15 production and outcome of patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL), including HIV positive patients, we analyzed 48 cases of VL. Clinical manifestations and response to therapy were similar in VL/HIV- and VL/HIV+ patients. However, relapses were more frequent in patients with HIV infection. Low levels of IL-15 concentrations were found in HIV+ patients without VL. These levels were comparable to concentrations obtained in healthy donors. We found a relationship between response to therapy and IL-15 levels. We found increased levels of IL-15 in VL/HIV- and VL/HIV+ patients with clinical and parasitological response to therapy. Our data demonstrate that VL in HIV-infected patients occurs in subjects with severe immunodeficiency and presents high rate of relapses. Low levels of IL-15 in illness patients and restored production in cured persons suggest that this cytokine could play a central role in immune responses during Leishmania/HIV co-infection.
为评估内脏利什曼病（VL）患者（包括HIV阳性患者）的临床和免疫学参数、白细胞介素（IL）-15的产生情况及预后，我们分析了48例VL患者。VL/HIV阴性和VL/HIV阳性患者的临床表现及对治疗的反应相似。然而，HIV感染患者的复发更为频繁。在无VL的HIV阳性患者中发现IL-15浓度较低。这些水平与健康供者的浓度相当。我们发现治疗反应与IL-15水平之间存在关联。我们发现，对治疗有临床和寄生虫学反应的VL/HIV阴性和VL/HIV阳性患者的IL-15水平升高。我们的数据表明，HIV感染患者的VL发生于严重免疫缺陷的个体中，且复发率很高。患病患者IL-15水平较低而治愈者IL-15产生恢复，这表明该细胞因子可能在利什曼原虫/HIV合并感染期间的免疫反应中起核心作用。
