Dual Immune Modulatory Effect of Vitamin A in Human Visceral Leishmaniasis

作者：Lima Maciel Bruna L; Valverde Joanna Gardel; Rodrigues Neto Joao Firmino; Freire Neto Francisco; Keesen Tatjana S L; Bezerra Jeronimo Selma Maria

来源：PLos One, 2014, 9(9): e107564.

DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0107564

Vitamin A supplementation has shown to prevent mortality by diarrheal and respiratory diseases in several countries. Nevertheless, there are few studies investigating the effect of vitamin A in visceral leishmaniasis (VL), although there are reports of its deficiency in children with symptomatic VL in Brazil and Bangladesh. This study analyzed the effect of vitamin A on a subset of Treg cells and monocytes isolated from symptomatic VL and from healthy children residing in an endemic area for VL in Northeast Brazil. Serum retinol concentrations correlated inversely with IL-10 and TGF-beta productions in CD4(+)CD25(high)Foxp3(+) T cells isolated from children with VL stimulated with leishmanial antigens. All-trans retinoic acid in vitro induced IL-10 in CD4(+)CD25(high)Foxp(3+) T cells; IL-10 and TGF-beta production in CD4(+)CD25(-)Foxp(3-) T cells, and IL-10 in monocytes isolated from healthy children. However, the use of all-trans retinoic acid together with leishmanial antigens in vitro prevented increases in IL-10 production in Treg cells and monocytes isolated from VL children. Strikingly, those results show a potential dual role of vitamin A in the immune system: improvement of a regulatory profile in cells from healthy children after leishmanial stimulation and down modulation of IL-10 in Treg cells and monocytes during symptomatic VL. Therefore, the use of vitamin A concomitant to VL therapy might be useful in improving recovery from disease status caused by Leishmania infantum infection and warrants additional study.

• 出版日期2014-9-30