RESUMEN
Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) treatment is based on therapy with Glucantime® , yet, there are few laboratory methods to monitor its success. In this study, ex vivo and in vitro evaluations of peripheral blood monocytes were performed in a longitudinal study to characterize the impact of Glucantime® on overall phenotypic/functional features of these cells from CL patients to identify predictive biomarkers for post-therapeutic monitoring by flow cytometry. The ex vivo evaluation from CL patients demonstrated a modulatory profile before treatment, with a decrease in TLR-2, FcγRII, HLA-DR, CD86, IFN-γR, TNF, IL-12, NO, and an increase in FcγRIII and IL-10R. Conversely, treatment changes some of these biomarker expressions by decreasing FcγRIII and IL-10R and increasing IFN-γR, IL-12 and NO. Moreover, an in vitro analysis of these patients showed a reduced phagocytic capacity of Leishmania braziliensis and higher levels of IL-10 and TGF-ß modulating functional profile. Regardless of the compromised L. braziliensis phagocytic capacity, treatment re-established the production of IL-12, IL-10, TGF-ß and NO at the basal level. Notably, monocytes from patients with early cicatrization showed enhanced FcγRI and FcγRII expressions and reduced IL-10, which was further corroborated by a baseline fold change analysis. Finally, the logistic regression model emphasized the performance of FcγRI, FcγRII and IL-10 as robust predictive biomarkers for post-therapeutic cicatrization during cutaneous leishmaniasis.