In vitro evaluation of immunomodulatory activity of the copper(I) complex and Libidibia ferrea in cutaneous leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be one of the most neglected tropical diseases in the world. The host ' s immune response is crucial for parasite elimination and, although the Th1 profile is associated with control of infections, if not modulated, it can cause tissue damage. The treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still a challenge because it is not adapted to the context of the patients, and is long, toxic and invasive. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the lymphoproliferation and dosage of cytokines induced by bioactive compounds of plant and inorganic origin, with antileishmanial action, through peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with CL. Lymphoproliferation was evaluated against the stimuli from the methanolic extract and fraction of Libidibia ferrea, copper complex and phytohemagglutinin using a BrdU cell proliferation ELISA kit after 72 hours of incubation. The dosage of IL-6, IL-8 and IL1 beta was determined using a BD (TM) cytometric bead array (CBA) human Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine kit. Our results indicate that the bioactive substances significantly stimulated in vitro lymphoproliferation of PBMCs (Cu(I) p<0.000; LFME p<0.02) and patients showed higher levels of IL-6 and IL-8 before treatment. It is therefore suggested that these bioactive compounds can enhance the cellular immune response.