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.
Highlights
Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by Leptospira interrogans (8)
We observed that the presence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was associated with antibody production and bacterial recovery, and the compromising of both tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6 in the immunopathogenesis of leptospirosis during an experimental infection of BALB/c mice inoculated with Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola was verified
When the bacterial recovery was compared with the kinetics of the production of antibodies, the results revealed a kinetics proportionally inverted to antibody production
Summary
Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by Leptospira interrogans (8). Immunity to this infection is mainly humorally mediated and involves opsonization of leptospires for phagocytosis by macrophages and neutrophils (6). We had previously demonstrated (5) the role of cytokines, NO and H2O2 in the immunopathology of leptospirosis in mice genetically selected for low (L) and high (H) antibody production and inbred BALB/c mice. Cytokines are immunomodulatory proteins that help organize the immune response to diverse inflammatory processes including infection. The aims of the present study were to measure the levels of circulatory TNF-α and IL-6 and to verify the relationship of these cytokines to bacterial recovery and antibody production in BALB/c mice during infection by L. interrogans serovar Canicola
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