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Differing antibody IgG isotypes in the polar forms of leprosy and cutaneous leishmaniasis characterized by antigen-specific T cell anergy

1995; Oxford University Press; Volume: 100; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1365-2249.1995.tb03603.x

1365-2249

M. Ulrich, Vestalia Rodríguez, M Centeno, J Convit,

Leprosy Research and Treatment

SUMMARY Leprosy and American cutaneous leishmaniasis are tropical diseases which present a spectrum of clinical and immunological manifestations. Lepromatous leprosy and diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis are the severe, progressive polar forms of disease characterized by persistent T cell anergy. Relative concentrations of antibodies belonging to the four IgG isotypes have been determined in these forms of disease as well as active visceral leishmaniasis, which presents transitory T cell anergy. Leishmania-specific lgG4 antibodies predominated in 19/20 sera from patients with diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis, and IgG1 antibodies predominated in 9/10 cases of untreated visceral leishmaniasis. The predominant IgG isotype of Mycobacterium leprae-specific antibodies in untreated lepromatous leprosy was remarkably variable (IgG1, igG2, IgG3 and IgG4 in 8, 6, 2 and 1 sera, respectively). Differing IgG antibody isotypes have been associated with distinct CD4+ T cell helper subpopulations and their characteristic lymphokine profiles in several pathologies. These results suggest that T cell anergy in chronic intracellular infections may be associated with as yet undefined mechanisms which modulate reported T helper cell lymphokine isotype relationships.