Here, we show that lymphocytes obtained from patients with mucosal leishmaniasis and cutaneous leishmaniasis produce higher levels of IL-17 than do lymphocytes obtained from uninfected control subjects (P<.01).
In vitro stimulated ACL PBMCs produced lower levels of IFN-γ (p = 0.0002) and TNF (p <0.0001), and higher levels of IL-10 (p = 0.0006) and IL-17 (p = 0.0008) than CL PBMCs.
These findings suggest that Foxp3<sup>+</sup> cells, IL-10 and IL-17 play important roles in the immunopathogenesis of CL and that these roles differ depending on the causal leishmania species and different body compartments.