HIV aspartyl protease inhibitors modify the percentage of activated leukocytes, as well as serum levels of IL-17A and NO during experimental leishmaniasis.
There was a tendency for tissue obtained from patients with mucosal leishmaniasis to contain a higher number of cells expressing IL-17, compared with tissue obtained from patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis, and there was a direct correlation between the number of cells expressing IL-17 and the presence of cellular inflammation at the lesion site (r2 = 0.86; P<.001) These data support the role of IL-17 in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory reaction in leishmaniasis.