The production of interleukin 2 (IL-2) by peripheral blood
mononuclear cells, from patients with different clinical forms
of Chagas disease and healthy controls, was evaluated after
stimulation with Trypanosoma cruzi antigen, PPD and
PHA. PHA induced higher production of IL-2 in infected
patients than healthy controls. No diferences were found
between infected groups. With PPD the trend was similar, the
only difference was that asymptomatic infected patients (INF)
showed higher levels of IL-2 production than patients with
cardiomyopathy (CDM). With T. cruzi antigen, most
patients showed little or no IL-2 production at 24 hr, a peak
at 48 hr and an abrupt fall at 72 hr. A similar pattern of IL-
2 production was observed in INF and CDM. To evaluate the
physiologic relevance of the deficit in IL-2 production, we
studied the effect of non-mitogenic concentratios of IL-2 in
the proliferative response to specific antigens. The addition
of IL-2 only enhanced the proliferative response of CDM
patients. These observations suggest that patients suffering
Chagas' disease, particularly CDM, have a significant
reduction in the capacity to produce IL-2. These findings
could be of importance in the pathogenesis of Chagas' disease.
