Leishmania parasites: could we consider them as living organisms per se?
Over the last 10 years - in Microbes and Infection - the publications dealing with protozoan parasites were mainly providing insights on the pathogenic processes leading to the local or systemic damages in the mammals, these parasitic organisms exploit/subvert as hosts. As a result, many investigators introduced the objectives of their analysis by referring to "host-pathogen" interactions. Though we, as investigators, are all determined to decipher the pathogenic processes which can indeed be coupled to the parasite uncontrolled development, I think that the parasites - alike the living organisms they subvert as hosts - need to be considered as living organisms per se, instead of being considered as "pathogens". Such a conceptual frame will promote research on the processes on which relies their perpetuation whatever the level under investigations - individual and/or population level. Only the unicellular protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania known to be hosted by blood-feeding insects and mammals will be further considered in this brief contribution.
Milon
Geneviève
G
Institut Pasteur, Unité d'Immunophysiologie et Parasitisme Intracellulaire,75724 Paris Cedex 15, France. genevieve.milon@pasteur.fr
D000818:Animals; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology*; D007891:Leishmania / Q000254:growth & development*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000635:transmission; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic