Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How inflammation and iron protein affect Leishmania in dogs
By do Nascimento, Paulo Ricardo Porfírio et al.·Published in PloS one·2013·Department of Biochemistry, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Association of pro-inflammatory cytokines and iron regulatory protein 2 (IRP2) with Leishmania burden in canine visceral leishmaniasis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 44 dogs infected with Leishmania (a parasite that can cause serious illness) were studied to understand how their immune responses affected the severity of their disease. The researchers found that dogs with higher levels of certain immune markers (IFN-γ and TNF-α) had lower parasite levels, while those with higher levels of IL-10 and a protein called IRP2 had more severe infections. This suggests that a strong immune response can help control the infection, while a weaker response may lead to worse outcomes. Understanding these immune responses could help in managing and treating dogs with Leishmania infections.
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Abstract
Leishmania infantum infection in humans and dogs can evolve with a wide range of clinical presentations, varying from asymptomatic infections to visceral leishmaniasis. We hypothesized that the immune response elicited by L. infantum infection could modulate whether the host will remain asymptomatic or progress to disease. A total of 44 dogs naturally infected with L. infantum were studied. Leishmania burden was estimated in the blood and spleen by qPCR. The expression of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-10 and Iron Regulatory Protein 2 (IRP2) were determined in the spleen by quantitative PCR. Sera cytokines were evaluated by ELISA. Dogs were grouped in quartiles according parasite burden. Increased expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α was associated with reduced Leishmania burden, whereas increased IL-10 and IRP2 expressions were associated with higher Leishmania load. Increased plasma albumin and IFN-γ expression explained 22.8% of the decrease in parasite burden in the spleen. These data confirm that lower IFN-γ response and higher IL-10 correlated with increased parasite load and severity of the visceral leishmaniasis in dogs. The balance between the branches of immune response and the intracellular iron availability could determine, in part, the course of Leishmania infection.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24146743/