title: Host resistance to visceral leishmaniasis: prevalence and prevention.
abstract: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a chronic parasitic disease caused by the vector-borne Leishmania donovani and Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi parasites. The disease affects about 12 million humans in more than 90 countries worldwide. If not treated, the visceral form of Leishmania infection is potentially fatal, yielding about 50000 deaths per year. In the vertebrate host, the Leishmania species causing VL spread systematically to propagate in macrophage reservoirs distributed in the tissues of internal organs, primarily the liver, spleen, bone marrow and the lymph nodes. The infection is associated with evolved mechanisms from the parasite to subvert the host immune system in order to establish a persistent infection. Currently, efforts are being deployed to develop new anti-leishmanial therapies in VL combining immunomodulatory treatment regimens that burst the host immune responses together with leishmanicidal drugs that target the parasite growth. Discoveries in this field are discussed in this article.
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Microbiologia Geral , Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.
authors.forename: Naiara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maran
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Microbiologia Geral , Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.
authors.forename: Pollyanna Stephanie
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: b Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas F ilho , Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Freire-de-Lima
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Microbiologia Geral , Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.
authors.forename: Elisangela Oliveira
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.affiliation: b Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas F ilho , Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.
authors.forename: Célio Geraldo
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Freire-de-Lima
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Microbiologia Geral , Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro , Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morrot
mesh_terms: D000977:Antiparasitic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000276:immunology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000502:physiology; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000502:physiology; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000469:parasitology; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000977:Antiparasitic Agents; D007155:Immunologic Factors
keywords: Infectious disease; immunology; leishmania; therapy; visceral leishmaniasis