Correlation of parasitic load with interleukin-4 response in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis due to Leishmania tropica

We have established the association between parasite burden and localized immune response in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania tropica. Real-time PCR was used to measure parasitic load in tissue lesions of CL patients at the pretreatment (n=26) and at the post-treatment stage (n=10). Leishmania tropica was detected in all CL lesions with a mean value of 118 357 parasites g-1 of dermal tissue. Following treatment, only one out of 10 patients showed residual parasites (100 parasites g-1 tissue). Parasite load was high (mean, 306 000 parasites g-1 tissue) in acute infections (early lesions) and low (mean, 1081 parasites g-1 tissue) in chronic infections (late lesions). Intralesional transcripts of interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), IL-8, IL-10 and IL-4 were investigated in early lesions (< 2 months, n=14) and late lesions (> 2 months, n=15) by reverse transcriptase-PCR, where IL-4 was found to be significantly upregulated in early lesions (P < 0.02). Further, the levels of parasite burden and IL-4 were distinctly correlated in various clinical forms of CL. Other cytokines were at comparable levels in early/late lesions and in different clinical forms. Upregulation of IL-4 was correlated with a higher parasite burden in early lesions of CL, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of CL by inhibiting a protective immune response.