Influence of Obesity on Clinical Manifestations and Response to Therapy in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania braziliensis.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania braziliensis is characterized by a single ulcer or multiple cutaneous lesions with raised borders. Cure rates <60% are observed in response to meglumine antimoniate therapy. We investigated the impact of obesity on CL clinical presentation and therapeutic response. METHODS: A total of 90 age-matched patients with CL were included (30 obese, 30 overweight, and 30 with normal body mass index [BMI]). CL was diagnosed through documentation of L. braziliensis DNA by polymerase chain reaction or identification of amastigotes in biopsied skin-lesion samples. Serum cytokine levels were determined by chemiluminescence. Antimony therapy with Glucantime (Sanofi-Aventis; 20 mg/kg/day) was administered for 20 days. RESULTS: Obese CL patients may present hypertrophic ulcers rather than typical oval, ulcerated lesions. A direct correlation between BMI and healing time was noted. After 1 course of antimony, cure was achieved in 73% of patients with normal BMI, 37% of overweight subjects, yet just 18% of obese CL patients (P < .01). Obese CL cases additionally presented higher leptin levels than overweight patients or those with normal BMI (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity modifies the clinical presentation of CL and host immune response and is associated with greater failure to therapy.

Influence of Intestinal Helminth Burden on Clinical Manifestations, Therapeutic Response, and Leishmania braziliensis Load in Patients with New World Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

Leishmania braziliensis is the most important cause of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the Americas. A Th1-type immune response is required to control Leishmania infection, but an exaggerated inflammatory response leads to the development of ulcers seen in CL. Infection with intestinal helminths has the potential to inhibit the Th1 response in a manner that depends both on the species of helminth present as well as the burden of helminthiasis. We conducted a prospective cohort study of CL patients from an endemic area between January and December 2017 with either negative or high intestinal helminth burden to characterize relationships between helminth burden, L. braziliensis quantification within CL lesions, clinical aspects of CL, and therapeutic response. Of 234 participants with leishmaniasis who underwent stool examination at the time of diagnosis, 45% had detectable helminth infection. The overall cure rate after 90 days was 66%, with a median time to resolution of disease of 40 days (interquartile range: 30-65 days). There was no significant association between the type of helminth infection or the magnitude of intestinal helminth burden at the time of diagnosis and L. braziliensis genomic DNA (gDNA) detected in biopsies from CL lesions. Likewise, there was no association between helminth burden and response to treatment after 90 days. Considering quantification of parasite DNA in CL lesions, participants who were cured at 90 days had a median of 0.017 ng/mg gDNA, and participants who failed therapy had a median of 0.091 ng/mg gDNA (P = 0.03). The results indicate that cutaneous Leishmania load may influence therapeutic response in CL.

Multi-omic Analyses of Plasma Cytokines, Lipidomics, and Transcriptomics Distinguish Treatment Outcomes in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

Leishmania braziliensis infection frequently results in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). An increase in incidence of drug-resistant CL leading to treatment failure has been reported. Identification of reliable predictors of treatment outcomes is necessary to optimize patient care. Here, we performed a prospective case-control study in which plasma levels of cytokines and lipid mediators were assessed at different time points during antileishmanial therapy in patients with CL from Brazil. Multidimensional analyses were employed to describe a combination of biomarkers able to predict and characterize treatment failure. We found a biosignature influenced mainly by plasma levels of lipid mediators that accurately predicted treatment failure. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis of a publicly available data set revealed that expression levels of genes related to lipid metabolism measured in skin lesions could distinguish treatment outcomes in CL. Thus, activation of pathways linked to lipid biosynthesis predicts treatment failure in CL. The biomarkers identified may be further explored as therapeutic targets.