Brazilian propolis promotes immunomodulation on human cells from American Tegumentar Leishmaniasis patients and healthy donors infected with L. braziliensis

Abstract

American Tegumentar Leishmaniasis (ATL) is an infectious disease caused by Leishmania parasites with ineffective treatment. The properties of propolis have been studied in different experimental studies, however, few works have investigated the effects of propolis on human-derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in leishmaniasis models. Thus, we investigate the immunomodulatory effects of propolis treatment on PBMC from ATL patients and on PBMC from healthy donors infected with Leishmania braziliensis. Our data demonstrate that propolis pretreatment shows immunomodulatory effects on both healthy donors and ATL patients adherent cells, increasing IL-4 and IL-17 and decreasing IL-10, in either the presence or absence of the L. braziliensis infection, demonstrating that propolis contributes with the decrease of the inflammation and could also contribute with parasite control.

Parasite Killing of Leishmania (V) braziliensis by Standardized Propolis Extracts

“…TGF- β and IL-10 are known to play an important role in macrophage deactivation, leading to increased parasite load in experimental models of L. (L) amazonensis , L. (V) braziliensis , and L. (L) major infection [59–62]. In addition, dos Santos Thomazelli et al [63] reported an immunomodulatory effect by treatment with hydroalcoholic propolis extract on PBMCs from CL patients, as well as on PBMCs from healthy donors infected or not with Leishmania (V) braziliensis , in which the extract was shown to increase IL-4 and IL-17, while decreasing IL-10 levels.…”

Host-Directed Drug Therapies for Neglected Tropical Diseases Caused by Protozoan Parasites

“…More recently, the immunomodulatory properties of Brazilian propolis was investigated in human-derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from L. braziliensis infected patients. This study found that in both healthy and infected donors, propolis was able to increase the levels of IL-4 and IL-17 while decreasing IL-10, showing an overall decrease in inflammation which could promote the control of the parasites ( Dos Santos Thomazelli et al, 2017 ).…”

Pharmaceutical Prospects of Bee Products: Special Focus on Anticancer, Antibacterial, Antiviral, and Antiparasitic Properties

“…(2) The alteration of angiogenesis in the affected tissue [236,238]; (3) Stimulation of immunomodulatory effects, by influencing the production of interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor α, IL-1, IL-4 and IL-17 [239][240][241]; (4) Induction of apoptosis-like mechanisms in parasites [236]; (5) Membrane disruption in parasites [242].…”