Figure 11.
Production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by lymph node cells from L. braziliensis-infected BALB/c mice treated with 20 mg/kg/day of 17-DMAG. BALB/c mice were infected with 105 promastigotes of L. braziliensis in the stationary phase and, after two weeks, were treated with 20 mg/kg/day with 17-DMAG. Control animals were treated daily with 5% glucose solution. The animals were euthanized after (A) two or (B) four weeks of treatment and the retroauricular lymph nodes were removed, homogenized, and cells were plated in complete RPMI medium at a concentration of 106 cells per well. These cells were restimulated with L. braziliensis (5:1) or 5 µg/mL of (ConA) for 48 h. After this period, the supernatants were collected, and the production of the cytokines IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF, and IL-10, and of the chemokine MCP-1 in cells’ supernatant was quantified using a specific CBA kit for inflammatory cytokines according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Bars represent the mean value of the amount of cytokine released from control groups (light gray) and treated mice (dark gray) at 2- and 4-weeks post-treatment. Each black round symbol (●) represents the amount of cytokine produced by each control animal, and each square symbol (■) represents the amount of cytokine produced by each treated animal, in an experiment performed with seven mice per group. (Unpaired t test, ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; **** p < 0.0001). N.D. = not detected.