Soluble CD26 and CD30 levels in patients with anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis

Objective: Leishmania tropica is the causative agent of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Iran. The disease often heats within a year; however, the non-healing forms of disease are also known. The aim of the present study was the determination of the levels of soluble (s) CD26 and CD30 co-stimulatory molecules in sera of L. tropica-infected individuals. The correlations of sCD26 and sCD30 levels with clinical presentation of the disease were assessed. Methods: The levels of sCD26 and sCD30 were determined by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in sera from patients with acute and non-heating presentation of disease. Results: The serum I.evel. of sCD26 was significantly higher in non-heating patients than in cases with acute CL (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in sCD26 Level between patients with acute CL and healthy controls. However, the levels of sCD30 in sera from all L. tropica-infected individuals were higher than controls (P < 0.001). A significant difference was also found in sCD30 level between non-heating cases and patients with acute CL (P < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest sCD30 is more relevant to clinical manifestation of cutaneous teishmaniasis than sCD26. The high sCD26 and sCD30 levels in non-heating patients reflect the presence of mixed Th1- and Th2-type responses in these patients. (c) 2006 The British Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.