Pleiotropic Effect of Hormone Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I in Immune Response and Pathogenesis in Leishmaniases

Author(s)

Reis, Luiza C. ^[1] ; Ramos-Sanchez, Eduardo Milton ^{[1, 2]} ; Araujo, Fernanda N. ^[1] ; Leal, Ariane F. ^[1] ; Ozaki, Christiane Y. ^[1] ; Sevillano, Orlando R. ^[1] ; Uscata, Bernardina A. ^[1] ; Goto, Hiro ^{[3, 1]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo IMTSP USP, Fac Med, Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Nacl Toribio Rodriguez de Mendoza de Amazona, Fac Ciencias Salud, Dept Salud Publ, Chachapoyas - Peru

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Med Prevent, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Review article
• Source: JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH; v. 2021, MAY 5 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Leishmaniases are diseases caused by several Leishmania species, and many factors contribute to the development of the infection. Because the adaptive immune response does not fully explain the outcome of Leishmania infection and considering that the initial events are crucial in the establishment of the infection, we investigated one of the growth factors, the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), found in circulation and produced by different cells including macrophages and present in the skin where the parasite is inoculated. Here, we review the role of IGF-I in leishmaniasis experimental models and human patients. IGF-I induces the growth of different Leishmania species in vitro and alters the disease outcome increasing the parasite load and lesion size, especially in L. major- and L. amazonensis-infected mouse leishmaniasis. IGF-I affects the parasite interacting with the IGF-I receptor present on Leishmania. During Leishmania-macrophage interaction, IGF-I acts on the arginine metabolic pathway, resulting in polyamine production both in macrophages and Leishmania. IGF-I and cytokines interact with reciprocal influences on their expression. IL-4 is a hallmark of susceptibility to L. major in murine leishmaniasis, but we observed that IGF-I operates astoundingly as an effector element of the IL-4. Approaching human leishmaniasis, patients with mucosal, disseminated, and visceral diseases presented surprisingly low IGF-I serum levels, suggesting diverse effects than parasite growth. We observed that low IGF-I levels might contribute to the inflammatory response persistence and delayed lesion healing in human cutaneous leishmaniasis and the anemia development in visceral leishmaniasis. We must highlight the complexity of infection revealed depending on the Leishmania species and the parasite's developmental stages. Because IGF-I exerts pleiotropic effects on the biology of interaction and disease pathogenesis, IGF-I turns up as an attractive tool to explore biological and pathogenic processes underlying infection development. IGF-I pleiotropic effects open further the possibility of approaching IGF-I as a therapeutical target. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/08340-8 - Effect of Insulin-like Growth Factor-I (IGF-I) on parasitism of mouse peritoneal macrophages by Leishmania (L.) infantum
• Grantee: Ariane Farias Leal
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 19/25393-1 - UK:Brazil Joint Centre Partnership in Leishmaniasis (JCPiL). work plan 1 molecular pathology of leishmaniasis: towards host-directed therapy in leishmaniases
• Grantee: Luiza de Campos Reis
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 18/14398-0 - UK:Brazil Joint Centre Partnership in Leishmaniasis (JCPiL)
• Grantee: Angela Kaysel Cruz
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/02959-4 - Interaction of Insulin-Like Growth Factor I and cytokines Th1 and Th2 in murine macrophage infection by Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis
• Grantee: Fernanda Narangeira de Araujo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master