Interleukin 17 Production among Patients with American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Interleukin 17 (IL-17) plays a critical role in inflammation and autoimmunity. Very little is known about IL-17 in protozoa infection. Here, we show that lymphocytes obtained from patients with mucosal leishmaniasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis produce higher levels of IL-17 than do lymphocytes obtained from uninfected control subjects (P<.01). There was a tendency for tissue obtained from patients with mucosal leishmaniasis to contain a higher number of cells expressing IL-17, compared with tissue obtained from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis, and there was a direct correlation between the number of cells expressing IL-17 and the presence of cellular inflammation at the lesion site (r(2) = 0.86; P<.001). These data support the role of IL-17 in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory reaction in leishmaniasis.