ABSTRACT
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the protozoal diseases in which%90 of cases occurs in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Saudi-Arabia, Brazil and Peru.Mashhad is one the most important foci of infection in our country. Various responses and prognosis to specific treatment in different patients from one side, and importance of IFN gamma and IL-4 producer cells on the other side impressed us to study the profile of lymphocytes and their subtypes by flow cytometry in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis. The study was conducted in Ghaem Hospital and Bu - Ali Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, on 36 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis from August 2001 until October 2002. Lymphocytes were counted and cultured to determine the cytokines. While cells were stimulated by phorpol 12-myistate 13-acetate [PMA], Inomycin and Monensin, cytokines were measured and analyzed, using different conjugate monoclonal antibodies [e.g. anti-IFN gamma - PE etc,], obtained from IQ Products Co., The Netherlands. In this project, the percentage of different responsible immunity cells in 29 subjects were [who carried out the survey] determined by F.C.S before and after medication. In our study, Thl in the whole population of the patients as well as 22 patients of group 1 who gave a positive response to the treatment showed a significant increase as [P=0.016] and [N 0.069], comparing with the control group. The present results show resemblance with the results obtained in most of the previous studies. Mean while, the Thl of the whole patients as well as the patients in group 1 involved in this study, shows a significant decrease, that is [N 0.063] for the whole patients and [P= 0.0039] for group 1, after the treatment in comparison with the status before the treatment. Perhaps, the toxic influence of medicine and stimulation of lymphocytes by PM.A. [none-specific stimulator] are the reasons for the reduction of Th1 in this group of patients