title: [CD8+ cytotoxic lymphocytes in cutaneous leishmaniasis].
abstract: Review of the literature on the role of CD8+ T cell in the immune response against Leishmania species that cause cutaneous leishmaniasis. The role of macrophages, dendritic cells, CD4 T cells and NK cells has been extensively analyzed in leishmaniasis, yet very little knowledge has been gained on CD8+ T cells in this disease. Murine models of leishmaniasis suggest that CD8+ T cells participate through IFNg production, yet their cytotoxic capacity may also play a crucial role, as has been found in human disease. It is an enigma what mechanisms underlie the CD8+ T cell activation. It is possible that dendritic cells activate CD8+ T cells through mechanisms that include antigen traspresentation. A better understanding of CD8+ T cells in the immune response against Leishmania will undoubtedly provide new insights into the physiopathogenesis of the disease that could lead to new therapeutic approaches against leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Experimental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, México, DF. hernandezjoselin@yahoo.com.mx
authors.forename: Joselín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hernández-Ruiz
authors.forename: Ingeborg
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology*