en Immunology Immunology Original Research: Basic Science in Medicine Original Research: Basic Science in Medicine This study was performed in order to define the cellular immune response of 12 recovered cutaneous leishmaniasis subjects to different soluble antigens of the amastigote form of Leishmania major. A soluble leishmanial antigen preparation (SLA) derived from highly-purified amastigotes from infected nude mice was fractionated by Mono Q column using Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC) system. Three different fractions were obtained. The lymphoproliferative response, interferon•gamma (IFN.'Y) and interleukin•4 (JL•4) to amastigote SLA and its three subfractions were measured. The highest proliferative response and specific IFN.'Y production without synthesis of fL•4, was induced by the fITst fraction of amastigote SLA. These results showed that the individuals who had recovered from cutaneous leishmaniasis had expanded memory T- cell clones recognizing different antigens in the first fraction of amastigote SLA. The main and most important point of this study was the identification of one fraction of an amastigote antigen which preferentially reacted with cells from recovered human cutaneous leishmaniasis cases. Cutaneous leishmaniasis, amasligote soluble L. major antigen, lymphocyte proliferation. cytokines. 33 38 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-398&slc_lang=en&sid=1 SIMA RAFATI SEYEDI YAZDI 20031947532846005238 20031947532846005238 Yes From the Department of Immunology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, STEPHANE COUTY-JOUVE 20031947532846005239 20031947532846005239 No Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lavsanne, CII-I066 Epalinges, Switzerland MOHAMMAD H ALIMOHAMADIAN 20031947532846005240 20031947532846005240 No From the Department of Immunology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, YAHYA DOWLATI 20031947532846005241 20031947532846005241 No the Center for Research and Training in Skin Disease and Leprosy, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.