01751nas a2200361   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653001100080653001100091653002300102653001800125653002800143653001200171653002400183653002500207653000900232653001600241653003200257100001100289700001400300700001300314700001600327700001400343700001600357245009500373300001100468490000800479050001300487520087500500022001401375       1990                            d  c1990 May10aAdolescent10aAdult10aFemale10aHumans10aImmunity, Cellular10aLeishmaniasis10aLeishmaniasis, Visceral10aleprosy10aLeprosy, Borderline10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aTumor Necrosis Factor-alpha1 aPisa P1 aGennene M1 aSöder O1 aOttenhoff T1 aHansson M1 aKiessling R00aSerum tumor necrosis factor levels and disease dissemination in leprosy and leishmaniasis.  a988-910 v161  aPISA19903 a<p>It has been suggested that tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) may serve as an important antigen-independent host defense mechanism against parasitic organisms. Sera from 66 patients with leishmaniasis and 68 patients with leprosy, all from Ethiopia, were tested for TNF alpha using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Sera from patients with the multi-parasitic/bacillary type of disease (visceral or diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis and lepromatous leprosy), known to be associated with absent or low specific T cell response, contained significantly higher TNF alpha titers than those of patients with pauci-parasitic/bacillary disease (localized cutaneous leishmaniasis and nonlepromatous leprosy). High titers of TNF alpha in the absence of a functioning T cell response do not appear to confer resistance against Leishmania aethiopica and Mycobacterium leprae.</p>  a0022-1899