Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1735-1502 17 4 2018 08 12 388 392 EN Sara Rojas-Dotor Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México City, México Adriana González-Hernández Unidad de Medicina Familiar No. 7, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México City, México Francisco León-Aguilar Unidad de Medicina Familiar No. 7, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México City, México Víctor Juárez-Téllez Unidad de Medicina Familiar No. 7, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México City, México Patricia Gómez de León-Cruces Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México City, México 2017 08 17 2017 12 11 Entamoeba histolytica produces, in axenic culture, the monocytes locomotion inhibitory factor (MLIF), a oligopeptide with selective anti-inflammatory properties. We evaluated the effect of MLIF on the expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in CD4+ T lymphocytes from children with asthma and allergic rhinitis. Twelve children with severe asthma, 12 children with allergic rhinitis and 6 healthy controls were recruited for this study between May and December 2016. CD4+ T cells were cultured for 24 h at 37°C, 5% CO2 in the presence of MLIF, 1-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), MLIF+PMA or RPMI. Interleukin-10 (IL-10), IL-4, interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) expression levels were measured in the supernatants of T-cell cultures using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were inhibited by MLIF (IFN-γ p=0.0036, TNF-α p<0.001, IL-4 p=0.0082) in asthmatic patients, however IFN-γ was not significantly inhibited (NS) in patients with allergic rhinitis when compared to the RPMI group. In CD4+ T cells treated with PMA+MLIF, the expression levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-4 were strongly inhibited (p<0.001, p<0.001 and p<0.0094), compared to PMA treatment alone, for both, rhinitis and asthma. IL-10 expression was not affected by MLIF in neither of the two diseases. We conclude that MLIF alters the pro/anti-inflammatory balance and induces inhibition of IL-4, IFN-γ and TNF-α, but does not affect IL-10. https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/view/1629 https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/download/1629/845