JID 2000;182 (November)
IL-12 Regulates Response in Leishmaniasis
1501
11. Ghalib H, Piuvezam M, Skeily Y, et al. Interleukin-10 production correlates
with pathology in human Leishmania donovani infection. J Clin Invest
1993;92:324–9.
12. Murray H, Hariprashad J, Coffman RL. Behavior of visceral Leishmania
donovani in an experimentally-induced Th2 cell–associated response
model. J Exp Med 1997;185:867–74.
intact during the time the drug is administered [30]. Excessive
endogenous IL-4 does influence outcome in this setting, how-
ever, because it promotes progression of L. major infection once
Sb therapy is discontinued [30].
The results derived from the use of IL-12 as a treatment serve
to complement the identification of the role of endogenous IL-
12 by indicating that synergy with Sb can also be induced by
the cytokine in exogenous form. Treatment with locally injected
(intralesional) IL-12 plus systemic Sb has also been used suc-
cessfully in L. major–infected footpads [31], and systemic ad-
ministration of IL-12 plus conventional antibiotics has also
proven active in models of other diverse infections [32–34]. The
capacity of exogenous IL-12 to act with Sb against L. donovani
in both normal and IFN-g–deficient mice indicates the breadth
of IL-12’s action, making it attractive as the cytokine com-
ponent of future immunochemotherapeutic antimicrobial reg-
imens. As judged by the prior use of IFN-g [15, 35–37], such
combination regimens may have a role in the treatment of vis-
ceral leishmaniasis and might also prove useful in other allied
intracellular infections.
13. Ghalib HW, Whittle JA, Kubin M, et al. IL-12 enhances Th1-type responses
in human Leishmania donovani infections. J Immunol 1995;154:4623–9.
14. Berman JD. Human leishmaniasis: clinical, diagnostic, and chemotherapeutic
developments in the last 10 years. Clin Infect Dis 1997;24:684–703.
15. Murray HW. Treatment of visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar): a decade of
progress and future approaches. Int J Infect Dis 2000 (in press).
16. Herwaldt BL. Miltefosine: the long-awaited therapy for visceral leishmani-
asis? N Engl J Med 1999;341:1840–2.
17. Murray HW, Berman JD, Wright SD. Immunochemotherapy for intracellular
Leishmania donovani infection: interferon-g plus pentavalent antimony. J
Infect Dis 1998;157:973–8.
18. Croft SL, Davidson RN, Thorton EA. Liposomal amphotericin B in the treat-
ment of visceral leishmaniasis. J Antimicrob Chemother 1991;28(Suppl B):
111–8.
19. Neal RA, Croft SL. 1984: an in vitro system for determining activity of
compounds against the intracellular form of Leishmania donovani. J An-
timicrob Chemother 1984;14:463–75.
20. Croft SL, Snowdon D, Yardley V. The activities of four anticancer alkyll-
sophospholipids against Leishmania donovani, Trypanosoma cruzi, and
Trypanosoma brucei. J Antimicrob Chemother 1996;38:1041–7.
21. Murray HW, Hariprashad J, Fichtl R. 1993. Treatment of experimental vis-
ceral leishmaniasis in a T cell–deficient host: response to amphotericin B
and pentamidine. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1993;37:1504–5.
22. Murray HW, Delph-Etienne S. Role of endogenous gamma interferon and
macrophage microbicidal mechanisms in host response to chemotherapy
in experimental visceral leishmaniasis. Infect Immun 2000;68:288–93.
23. Murray HW, Delph-Etienne S. Visceral leishmanicidal activity of hexadecyl-
phosphocholine (miltefosine) in mice deficient in T cells and activated mac-
rophage microbicidal mechanisms. J Infect Dis 2000;181:795–9.
24. Murray HW, Oca MJ, Granger AM, Schreibe RD. Requirement for T cells
and effect of lymphokines in successful chemotherapy for an intracellular
infection: experimental visceral leishmaniasis. J Clin Invest 1989;83:1253–7.
25. Murray HW, Jungbluth A, Ritter E, Montelibano C, Marino MW. Visceral
leishmaniasis in mice devoid of tumor necrosis factor and response to
treatment. Infect Immun 2000 (in press).
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Robert Coffman and Brain Seymour (DNAX
Corporation) for performing the IgE assays.
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