Cytokine and antibody production during murine leptospirosis

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the kinetics of humoral and cellular responses during leptospirosis. We observed that the presence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was associated with antibody production and bacterial recovery, and the compromising of both TNF-alpha and IL-6 in the immunopathogenesis of leptospirosis during an experimental infection of BALB/c mice inoculated with Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola was verified. Results showed higher levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in the initial phase of infection, in which the greatest bacterial clearance was observed. However, when the bacterial recovery was compared with the kinetics of the production of antibodies, the results revealed a kinetics proportionally inverted to antibody production. This fact may be related to some inhibitory factor which could be responsible for the selective suppression of the cellular immune response. We concluded that during leptospirosis there was a greater mobilization of the cellular immune response activity, mainly in the initial phase of the infectious process, for posterior involvement of the humoral response, and that both TNF-alpha and IL-6 could be associated with the immunopathogenesis of the disease

Role of human leukocyte antigen, killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors, and cytokine gene polymorphisms in leptospirosis

“…In the case of leptospirosis, it might be more useful to focus on cytokines with serum levels that have been repeatedly associated with leptospiral infections, studying all of their genetic polymorphisms and suspected impact on promoter activity or protein funtion. This could be the case of IL-4 [35,37], IL-6 [37,38], IL-12 [37,39], TNF-␣ [37][38][39][40][41], IFN-␥ [37,39], and IL-10 [35,42]. Genetic polymorphisms have been providing important clues into the host's ability to successfully deal with infection.…”

TNF-α and IL-6 immunohistochemistry in rat renal tissue experimentaly infected with Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola

“…After LPS injection, TNF-α is produced in blood, reaches a peak within 60 to 90 minutes after inoculation and disappears in subsequent hours (13). In another study, Marinho et al (9) found that TNF-α was detected during the first days of infection (from 7 th to 21 st ). TNF-α could be detected in the first 6 hours of incubation, and its levels gradually decreased in the following 24 to 72 hours.…”

Pulmonary Disease in Hamsters Infected with Leptospira interrogans: Histopathologic Findings and Cytokine mRNA Expressions

“…4,5 The presence of inflammatory cytokines has also been confirmed in sera of patients with leptospirosis. 6 Marinho and others 7,8 showed that high levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a and interleukin (IL)-6 in the supernatant of peritoneal macrophage cellular culture of genetically selected mice inoculated with a sample of Leptospira interrogans serovars Canicola was determined by immunoenzymatic assays. The lungs are an important target organ in leptospirosis presenting hemorrhagic pneumonitis with varying degrees of severity.…”