Abstract
The ability of Leishmania parasites to infect and persist in the antigen-presenting cell population of their mammalian hosts is dependent on their ability to gain entry to their host and host cells, to survive the mammalian cell environment, and to suppress or evade the protective immune response mechanisms of their hosts. A multitude of genes and their products have been implicated in each of these virulence-enhancing strategies to date, and we present an overview of the nature and known function of such virulence genes.
Keywords:
Immune modulation; Intracellular pathogen; Leishmania; Virulence.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Adaptation, Biological
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Animals
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Antigen-Presenting Cells / immunology
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Antigen-Presenting Cells / metabolism
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Antigen-Presenting Cells / parasitology
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Exosomes / metabolism
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Genetic Fitness
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Heat-Shock Proteins / genetics
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Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
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Host-Parasite Interactions*
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Humans
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Immune Evasion
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Immunomodulation
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Leishmania / genetics*
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Leishmania / immunology
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Leishmania / pathogenicity*
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Leishmaniasis / immunology
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Leishmaniasis / parasitology*
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Protozoan Proteins / metabolism
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Risk Factors
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Stress, Physiological
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Virulence / genetics
Substances
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Heat-Shock Proteins
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Protozoan Proteins