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.
Laboratorio di Parossitologia, Istituto Superiore di Sanitá Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
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