ABSTRACT
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an anthropozoonosis endemic in Brazil. We included 20 patients with confirmed diagnosis of VL and 20 healthy individuals to evaluate the expression levels of complement receptor 1 (CR1)/CD35 and CR3/CD11b on leukocytes in the peripheral blood and determine their correlation with the clinical state of patients. CR1/CD35 expression increased on CD11b+CD35+granulocytes of patients, while CR1/CD35 and CR3/CD11b expression levels increased on CD14+CD11b+CD35+ monocytes. Among patients, those with severe clinical state had higher expression of CR3/CD11b on CD14+monocytes. The count of CD19+CD35+B lymphocytes reduced in the blood samples from patients. These observed changes may indicate the modulation in CR1/CD35 and CR3/CD11b complement receptor expressionlevels on granulocyte and monocyte populations in response to Leishmania sp.
