It is well documented that in diabetes melli-tus immune cells, such as macrophages and neutro-phils are impaired, possibly leading to an increased susceptibility to infections including those caused by Gram-negative bacteria.4 It has been shown that in-sulin levels are associated with bacteremic melioido-sis.5 To date, the status of IL-17 expression associ-ated with B. pseudomallei infection and diabetes mellitus has not been established. Thus the present study was conceived to investigate the possible in-volvement of IL-17 expression in the pathogenesis of melioidosis, particularly in diabetes mellitus which is
the most common risk factor for this disease. The
expression of IL-17 mRNA and protein in peripheral
blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) stimulated with
virulent B. pseudomallei and avirulent B. thailandensis
was assessed in diabetic patients and compared to
that of healthy individuals. In addition, IL-23 gene
expression was investigated for its involvement in
IL-17 expression.