title: Immunopathology of American cutaneous leishmaniasis.
abstract: American mucocutaneous leishmaniasis is a granulomatous disease clinically characterized by ulcerated skin lesions that can regress spontaneously. A small percentage of the affected individuals can however develop a severe destruction of the nasal, oral, pharyngeal and/or laryngeal mucous membranes many years after the healing of the primary lesion. The human immune response to the infection and the possible mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of the disease, determining either the self-healing or the development of chronic and destructive mucosal lesions, are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pirmez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D007892:Leishmania braziliensis / Q000276:immunology; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D007897:Leishmaniasis, Mucocutaneous / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007371:Interferon-gamma