The investigation of İL-6, TNF-α, dhea and cortisol levels in canine visceral leishmaniasis

Dogs are considered as the main reservoirs of visceral leishmaniasis and it was known that humans could be infected with the parasite accidentally. It was commonly stated that the most promising approach in the battle against the canL (canine leishmaniasis) was immunoprophylaxis because of the low response to treatment among dogs. Therefore, the studies in the field of immunology have gained much importance, recently. Totally 40 serum specimens from dogs with suspected Leishmania infection, ages varied between 2 and four, 20 were IFA seropositive and 20 were IFA seronegative, were included in the present study at Faculty of Medicine, Department of Parasitology. The demographic and clinical properties of dogs were analysed with a survey. In the study group, antibodies specific to parasite were determined with an immunochromatographic test (rapid test). Additionally, the serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, DHEA and cortisol were determined with commercially available kits. The findings were evaluated with chi-square by comparing groups.Positive bands were detected with rapid test with the serum samples of all IFA seropositive dogs. Moreover, all IFA seronegative dogs gave negative reaction with rapid test. The most common symptoms among the dogs were: weakness (75%), alopecia (70%) and weight loss (70%), respectively. It was found that the frequency of weakness and fever were statistically different between groups (p=0.015, p=0.021, respectively). The mean serum TNF-α level for seropositive dogs was 17,32 pg/ml and 16,59 pg/ml for seronegative dogs (p=0.722), the mean serum IL-6 level for seropositive dogs was 33,72 pg/ml and 13,43 pg/ml for seronegative dogs (p=0.091). Additionally, the mean serum cortisol level of seropositive and seronegative dogs were 2,21 µg/dL and 1,94 µg/dL, respectively (p=0.546), it was found that while the mean serum DHEA-S level of seropositive dogs were 3,95 µg/dL the mean value was 3,23 µg/dL for seronegative dogs (p=0.088. It was thought that the improvement of knowledge about the immune mechanisms and affecting factors would be helpful to forthcoming researches on immunotherapy of canL and the quality of available vaccines against Leishmania.