Leishmania infantum tropism: strain genotype or host immune status?
In apparently immunocompetent patients, Leishmania infantum provokes a spectrum of disease, ranging from simple skin lesion to severe visceral leishmaniasis, that is determined mainly by the protozoan genotype. In HIV-positive individuals, leishmanial infection results almost exclusively in visceral disease. In this review, Luigi Grodoni and Marina Gromiccia discuss the role o f the intrinsic virulence of L. infantum strains and the immune condition of the host, and focus on recently described mechanisms of immunological control of leishmanial infection.
Gradoni
L
L
Laboratorio di Parossitologia, Istituto Superiore di Sanitá Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Gramiccia
M
M