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=7

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=<p>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 <italic>Leishmania-</italic>endemic areas. This paper examines the IL-2, IFN-γ, IFN-γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10), and monokine-induced-by-IFN-γ (MIG) levels in whole blood—stimulated <italic>in vitro</italic> with soluble <italic>Leishmania</italic> antigen (SLA)—taken from asymptomatic individuals and patients treated for VL living in a post-outbreak (<italic>Leishmania infantum</italic>) area in Spain, and in an endemic (<italic>Leishmania donovani</italic>) 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 <italic>L. donovani</italic> than IL-2 but no for those with <italic>L. infantum</italic>. Determining IP-10, MIG, and IFN-γ levels proved useful in monitoring the cellular immune response following treatment for active disease caused by <italic>L. infantum</italic>.</p>