Decreased prevalence of lymphatic filariasis among diabetic subjects associated with a diminished pro-inflammatory cytokine response (CURES 83).

• Main Authors: Vivekanandhan Aravindhan, Viswanathan Mohan, Jayagopi Surendar, Maradana Muralidhara Rao, Nathella Pavankumar, Mohan Deepa, Ramanujam Rajagopalan, Vasanthapuram Kumaraswami, Thomas B Nutman, Subash Babu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2010-01-01
• Series: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2886036?pdf=render

Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse correlation between the incidence of lymphatic filariasis (LF) and the incidence of allergies and autoimmunity. However, the interrelationship between LF and type-2 diabetes is not known and hence, a cross sectional study to assess the baseline prevalence and the correlates of sero-positivity of LF among diabetic subjects was carried out (n = 1416) as part of the CURES study. There was a significant decrease in the prevalence of LF among diabetic subjects (both newly diagnosed [5.7%] and those under treatment [4.3%]) compared to pre-diabetic subjects [9.1%] (p = 0.0095) and non-diabetic subjects [10.4%] (p = 0.0463). A significant decrease in filarial antigen load (p = 0.04) was also seen among diabetic subjects. Serum cytokine levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines-IL-6 and GM-CSF-were significantly lower in diabetic subjects who were LF positive, compared to those who were LF negative. There were, however, no significant differences in the levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines-IL-10, IL-13 and TGF-beta-between the two groups. Although a direct causal link has yet to be shown, there appears to be a striking inverse relationship between the prevalence of LF and diabetes, which is reflected by a diminished pro-inflammatory cytokine response in Asian Indians with diabetes and concomitant LF.