ArticlePathogens and global health2013
Serum cytokines associated with severity and complications of kala-azar.
Article in Pathogens and global health, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of biomarkers to monitor therapeutic response in leishmaniasis.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2015Pooled it
- Risk factors for adverse prognosis and death in American visceral leishmaniasis: a meta-analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2014Pooled it
- Use of N-acetylcysteine as treatment adjuvant regulates immune response in visceral leishmaniasis: Pilot clinical trial andFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Trial
- IgG3 and IL10 are effective biomarkers for monitoring therapeutic effectiveness in Post Kala-Azar Dermal Leishmaniasis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Trial
- Impact of visceral leishmaniasis and curative chemotherapy on cytochrome P450 activity in Brazilian patients.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2015Trial
- Severe visceral leishmaniasis in Ethiopia: Outcomes, co-infections and mortality in a prospective real-world cohort.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Assessment of Systemic Inflammation as a Tool for Estimating the Risk of Death by Visceral Leishmaniasis.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Interleukin-8 Predicts Fatal Kala-Azar: A Case-Control Study.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Genome-wide association study analysis of single nucleotide variants inParasitology · 2025Article
- Relationship Between Hepcidin, Iron Metabolism, Inflammation and Hypersplenism in Anaemia of Kala-Azar.Parasite immunology · 2025Article
- Immune-Pathological Correlates of Disease Severity in New-World Kala-Azar: The Role of Parasite Load and Cytokine Profiles.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Insights to the HIV-associated visceral leishmaniasis clinical outcome: lessons learned about immune mediated disorders.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Design and development of highly conserved, HLA-promiscuous T cell multiepitope vaccines against human visceral leishmaniasis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Concomitant use of anti-leishmanial therapy and antibacterial prophylaxis reduces plasma LPS levels and improves several aspects of experimental Leishmania infantum infection in golden hamsters.Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz · 2025Article
- Association between clinical outcomes, peripheral blood and cytomorphologic features of bone marrow in visceral leishmaniasis.Hematology, transfusion and cell therapy · 2024Article
- An integrated analysis of the structural changes and gene expression of spleen in human visceral leishmaniasis with and without HIV coinfection.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Cytokine profiles, blood parasite load and clinical features of visceral leishmaniasis in West Pokot County, Kenya.Parasitology · 2024Article
- Low Plasma Lipids Are Associated with Relapsing and Lethal Visceral Leishmaniasis in HIV-Infected Patients.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Visceral Leishmaniasis in a Twin Pregnancy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- The spleen is the graveyard of CD4+ cells in patients with immunological failure of visceral leishmaniasis and AIDS.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesRecent clinical data suggest that severe kala-azar (or visceral leishmaniasis) is an exaggerated innate immune response mediated by inflammatory cytokines, leading to a systemic inflammatory syndrome similar to what is observed in malaria, sepsis and other diseases. We tested this hypothesis by measuring serum cytokines in individuals with kala-azar.
methodsWe compared patients with severe kala-azar (i.e. hemorrhagic manifestations, n = 38) with patients without evidence of hemorrhage (n = 96). We conducted a detailed clinical and laboratory evaluation, measuring serum IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, interferon-gamma, and TNF-alpha, and markers of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).
resultsInfants had higher levels of inflammatory cytokines, while HIV-infected patients had lower concentrations of IL-10 and interferon-gamma. Higher levels of IL-6, interferon-gamma, and IL-8 were found among deceased patients. IL-8 and interferon-gamma were independently associated with bleeding. Several cytokines were associated with different signs of severe clinical and laboratory manifestations, including DIC. IL-6 was highly positively and independently associated with IL-1beta, IL-8, IL-10, and negatively associated with TNF-alpha. IL-1beta and TNF-alpha were also highly independently associated with disease severity.
conclusionIn its severe form, kala-azar, a neglected tropical disease, initiates a systemic inflammatory response that leads to DIC and other manifestations. Children may have higher risk of death due to the more intense cytokine release. The data supports the notion that IL-6 is the central cytokine that is associated with lethal disease, but interferon-gamma, IL1beta, IL-8, and TNF-alpha are also involved with disease severity. Inhibition of IL-6 is a potential target of adjuvant therapy for severe or pediatric forms of this disease.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.