Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2007) 102, 64—69 available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevierhealth.com/journals/trst The influence of copper, selenium and zinc on the response to the Montenegro skin test in subjects vaccinated against American cutaneous leishmaniasis Alexandra Paiva Ara´ ujo a , Olguita Geralda Ferreira Rocha b , Wilson Mayrink c , George Luiz Lins Machado-Coelho a,* a Laborat´ orio de Epidemiologia, Escola de Farm´ acia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP), Rua Costa Sena 171 Centro, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil b Fundac ¸˜ ao Centro Tecnol´ ogico de Minas Gerais (CETEC), Av. Jos´ e Cˆ andido da Silveira, 2000 Horto, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil c Instituto de Ciˆ encias Biol´ ogicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Av. Antˆ onio Carlos, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil Received 20 January 2007; received in revised form 30 August 2007; accepted 31 August 2007 Available online 5 November 2007 KEYWORDS American cutaneous leishmaniasis; Vaccines; Zinc; Copper; Selenium; Montenegro skin test Summary We evaluated the relationship between the trace elements copper, zinc and selenium and the response to the Montenegro skin test (MST) in 172 volunteers vaccinated against American cutaneous leishmaniasis. The MST diameter was categorized as negative and in quartiles of positive response, constituting five groups. Trace element serum levels were analyzed by coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry, with study subjects classified into two groups depending on low or high levels of trace elements observed. MST-positive subjects had an MST diameter (mean ± SD) of 10.35 ± 4.64mm, with copper, selenium and zinc serum levels of 1433.7 ± 665.7 g/l, 88.6 ± 39 g/l and 999.2 ± 366 g/l, respectively. The MST diameter was significantly differ- ent in the selenium groups only. The selenium levels also differed with the quartiles of the MST diameters of individuals testing positive (P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that trace elements, par- ticularly selenium, should be measured in future vaccine trials so that vaccine immunogenicity and response can be assessed and compared between different studies. © 2007 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 31 3559 1638; fax: +55 31 3559 1628. E-mail address: gmcoelho@ef.ufop.br (G.L.L. Machado-Coelho). 0035-9203/$ — see front matter © 2007 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2007.08.010