Exploitation of the complement system by Leishmania promastigotes.
Complement has long been acknowledged as an important component of host defense to extracellular pathogens. David Mosser and Andrew Brittingham here describe how Leishmania spp, intracellular pathogens of mononuclear phagocytes, exploit the opsonic and chemotactic effects of complement to initiate infection in the mammalian host.
Brittingham
A
A
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
Mosser
D M
DM