IFNG and infection: Leishmania infection of DCs results in IL-12 production (Marovich et al., 2000), an essential cytokine for the polarization of naïve T cells toward Th1 subset and subsequent IFN-γ production to control the infection (Heinzel et al., 1993; Sypek et al., 1993; von Stebut et al., 1998).