Immune responses to Leptospira infection: roles as biomarkers for disease severity

Various leptospiral components have been identified and shown to be involved in tissue destruction. In addition, immune responses to leptospires have been implicated in target organ damages in severe leptospirosis cases. Several inflammatory mediators were shown to be higher in susceptible animals than in resistant hosts. Moreover, cytokines/chemokines and serum proteins induced following Leptospira infection were suggested to be biomarkers for disease severity in human leptospirosis. This review focuses on the role of immune responses in the severity of leptospirosis. Studies in both animal models and humans are discussed.