AUTHOR=Pereira Lais , Oliveira Fabiano , Townsend Shannon , Metangmo Sonia , Meneses Claudio , Moore Ian N. , Brodskyn Claudia I. , Valenzuela Jesus G. , Magez Stefan , Kamhawi Shaden TITLE=Coinfection With Trypanosoma brucei Confers Protection Against Cutaneous Leishmaniasis JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=9 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.02855 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2018.02855 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Infection with certain bacteria, parasites, and viruses alters the host immune system to Leishmania major influencing disease outcome. Here, we determined the outcome of a chronic infection with Trypanosoma brucei brucei on cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by L. major. C57BL/6 mice infected with T. b. brucei were given a sub-curative treatment with diminazene aceturate then coinfected with L. major by vector bites. Our results revealed that infection with T. b. brucei controls CL pathology. Compared to controls, coinfected mice showed a significant decrease in lesion size (P < 0.05) up to 6 weeks post-infection and a significant decrease in parasite burden (P < 0.0001) at 3 weeks post-infection. Protection against L. major resulted from a non-specific activation of T cells by trypanosomes. This induced a strong immune response characterized by IFN-γ production at the site of bites and systemically, creating a hostile inflammatory environment for L. major parasites and conferring protection from CL.