Inhibition of host cell signal transduction by Leishmania: observations relevant to the selective impairment of IL-12 responses.
Leishmania parasites are able to delay the onset of cell-mediated immunity by selectively impairing the ability of infected macrophages to produce interleukin (IL)-12. Leishmania infection arrests the JAK/STAT-mediated signal transduction involved in activation of the IL-12 p40 promoter; the phosphorylation defects may be initiated by ligation of the phagocyte receptors used by these organisms to gain entry into the host cell.
McDowell
M A
MA
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. mmcdowell@niaid.nih.gov
Sacks
D L
DL
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D007891:Leishmania / Q000502:physiology*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
D018664:Interleukin-12