A serological survery for canine visceral (VL) and American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) has been carried out during 1984-1989, to assess the effects of the prophylactic measures adopted in areas where there was a risk of transmission of the diseases in Rio de Janeiro. A previous serologival survey (1982/83) had detected serum positive dogas as well as the human disease in these same areas. A total fo 22,828 dogs have been examined in this last survey, 7,807 of which came from Campo Grande (VL and ACL area), 4,110 from Jacarepaguá (ACL area), 4,l46 from Realengo, 3,879 from Bangu and 2,886 from Senador Camará, (three VL areas). The analysis of these results showed a notable reduction in the number of serum positve dogs, compared to those of the first survey was 12.7%, against 0.62% of the second; (b) in Jacarepaguá (ACL) it decreased from 8.6%) to l.8% (c) in Bangu, Realengo and Senador Camará (VL) the rate decreased from 4.3% to 0.38%. The results indicate that this decrease was due to the prophylactic measures adopted in those areas.

Os resultados apresentados nesta revisão, sumariam uma série de experimentos planejados no sentido de caracterizar a resposta imune de linfócitos T de camundongos, para o protozoário parasita Leishmania tropica. Populações enriquecidas de linfócitos T e clones de linfócitos T específicos para antígenos de L. tropica foram derivados de gânglios linfáticos de camundongos primados e a seguir mantidos em cultura contínua in vivo. Ficou demonstrado que estes linfócitos T eram capazes de: A) Expressar o fenótipo de superfície celular Lyt 1+ 2-, B) Proliferar en vitro especificamente em resposta aos antígenos parasitários quando em presença de macrófagos singênicos irradiados, C) Transferir uma resposta tipo hipersensibilidade retardada antiígeno especifico à camundongos normais singênicos, D) Induzir ativação específica de macrófagos parasitizados in vitro resultando em destruição dos parasitas intracelulares, E) Providenciar uma atividade "helper" específica para uma resposta com produção de anticorpos in vitro em um sistema haptenocarreador. Estudos de proteção utilizando estas populações definidas de linfócitos T poderão permitir a caracterização de antígeno(s) parasitários implicados na indução de uma resposta imune celular com benefícios para o hospedeiro.

The results presented in this review summarize a seirs of experiments designed to characterize the murine T cell imune response to the protozoan parasite Leishmania tropica. Enriched T cell populations and T cell clones specific for L. tropica antigens were derived from lymph nodes of primed mice and maintained in continous culture in vitro. These T lymphocytes were shown (A) to express the Lyt 1+ 3- cell surface phenotype, (B) to proliferate specifically in vitro in response to parasite antigens, together with a source of irradiated syngeneic macrophages, (C) to transfer antigen-specific delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses to normal syngeneic mice, (D) to induce specific activation of parasitized macrophages in vitro resulting in the destruction of intracellular parasites, (E) to provide specific helper activity for antibody responses in vitro in a hapten-carrier system. Protection studies using these defiened T cell populations should allow the characterization of parasite antigen(s) implicated in the induction of cellular immune responses beneficial for the host.