Cytokine Production in Response to Soluble Leishmania Aethiopica Antigen by Whole Blood Cells from Patients with Different Clinical Presentations of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania aethiopica, is a major health problem in Ethiopia. It presents mostly as three different clinical forms: localized CL characterized by small lesions that ulcerate; diffuse CL defined by multiple nonulcerating nodules; and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, where the mucosa of the nose or the mouth is affected. The mechanisms resulting in the development of these different clinical presentation are still poorly understood. Here, we recruited a cohort of CL patients presenting with different forms of CL in northwest Ethiopia as well as cohort of healthy nonendemic controls. We assessed the capacity of whole blood cells from these cohorts to produce cytokines in response to soluble L. aethiopica antigen and compared these levels between the different clinical presentations of CL and healthy nonendemic controls. Our results show that the levels of antigen-specific cytokines produced by whole blood cells from CL patients were higher as compared with controls. However, these cytokine levels were similar among the different clinical presentations. In conclusion, the results of our study indicate that variations in clinical manifestations of CL are not associated with differences in antigen-specific cytokine profiles.