AUTHOR=Ibarra-Meneses Ana V. , Ghosh Prakash , Hossain Faria , Chowdhury Rajashree , Mondal Dinesh , Alvar Jorge , Moreno Javier , Carrillo Eugenia 

TITLE=IFN-γ, IL-2, IP-10, and MIG as Biomarkers of Exposure to Leishmania spp., and of Cure in Human Visceral Leishmaniasis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2017

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00200

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2017.00200

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=New biomarkers are needed for monitoring the effectiveness of treatment for visceral leishmaniasis (VL). They might also improve the detection of the asymptomatic population in Leishmania-endemic areas. This paper examines the IL-2, IFN-g, IFN-g-induced protein 10 (IP-10) and monokine-induced-by-IFN-g (MIG) levels in whole blood - stimulated in vitro with soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA) - taken from asymptomatic individuals and patients treated for VL living in a post-outbreak (L. infantum) area in Spain, and in an endemic (L. donovani) area of Bangladesh. IP-10 was found to be an accurate global marker of asymptomatic subjects with positive cellular/humoral tests, while MIG was found to be a better marker of contact with L. donovani than IL-2 but no for those with L.infantum.  Determining IP-10, MIG and IFN-g levels proved useful in monitoring the cellular immune response following treatment for active disease caused by L. infantum.