Evaluation of medullary cytokine expression and clinical and laboratory aspects in severe human visceral leishmaniasis

Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious public health problem. The factors that can determine whether VL develops and progresses to severe form have not been fully identified, but a specific cellular immune response appears to play a key role. Therefore, understanding immunopathogenesis can be useful in preventing a serious clinical outcome. Materials and Methods Bone marrow samples were collected from patients with severe VL (SVL) or non-severe VL (NSVL). Cytokine levels and parasitic load were analysed by RT-qPCR. There is a statistically significant difference in the leukocyte parameter in patients with SVL and NSVL compared with the control patients (p = .006 and p = .014, respectively). Results Urea, alanine transaminase and albumin parameters had a significant difference p = .036, p = .039 and p = .017, respectively, between SVL and NSVL. Although high levels of IFN-gamma, IL-10, IL-6 and TNF-alpha were present in all groups of individuals with VL, they were not statistically associated with severity. In patients with active VL, IFN-gamma and IL-10 were associated, respectively, with a reduction and increase in the parasite load, strong and significant positive association between IFN-gamma and IL-10 (rho = .627 and p = .003). Conclusion This study demonstrates that VL stimulates an non-dichotomized inflammatory response between Th1/Th2 and that bone marrow is an important tissue for immune regulation.