Iranian J Parasitol: Vol. 7, No.1, 2012, pp. 18-25 Iranian J Parasitol Open access Journal at http:// ijpa.tums.ac.ir Iranian Society of Parasitology http:// isp.tums.ac.ir Tehran University of Medical Sciences Publication http:// tums.ac.ir Original Article IL-23 and IL-27 Levels in Macrophages Collected from Peripheral Blood of Patients with Healing Vs Non-Healing Form of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis S Tolouei1, K Ghaedi2, A Khamesipour3, M Akbari 4 , M Baghaei5, SJ Hasheminia6, M Narimani1, *SH Hejazi 7 1Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 2Department of Biology, School of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Royan Institute for Animal Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, Iran 3Center for Research and Training in Skin Diseases and Leprosy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 5Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Islamic Azad University Shahrekord Branch, Shahrekord, Iran 6Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran 7Skin Disease and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran *Corresponding author: Tel: 0098-311-7922427, E-mail: hejazi@med.mui.ac.ir. (Received 14 Sep 2011; accepted 11 Dec 2011) ABSTRACT Background: In this study the level of IL-23 and IL-27 produced by macrophages derived from peri- pheral blood mononuclear cell culture collected from patients with healing or non-healing form of cutane- ous leishmaniasis lesion were compared before and after treatment with live Leishmania to explore whether IL-23 or IL-27 plays any role in healing process of cutaneous lesions induced by L. major. Methods: Twenty patients resident in Isfahan Province, with healing or non-healing form of cutaneous leishmaniasis lesion caused by Leishmania major participated in this study. In vitro productions of IL-23 and IL-27 by peripheral blood derived macrophages, before and after stimulation with live L. major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) promastigotes were evaluated using ELISA method. Patient with healing form of le- sion received no treatment and patient with non-healing form of lesion received at least 2 courses of glucantime. Results: The mean production of IL-23 and IL-27 from macrophages of patients with healing form of le- sion was significantly higher than patients with non-healing form of lesion. The levels of IL-23 and IL-27 in culture supernatants before and after stimulation in healing form of CL was significantly higher than non- healing form of CL (P < 0.001). Conclusion: IL-23 and IL-27 might play a role in human leishmaniasis and further studies are needed to understand the role of IL-23 and IL-27 in leishmaniasis. Keywords: IL-23, IL-27, Macrophages, Promastigote, Cutaneous leishmaniasis 18 Available at: http://ijpa.tums.ac.ir