Leishmaniasis, caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by female Phlebotomine sandflies, is a global health concern particularly in South America, Africa and Asia. Clinically, the disease exits as a spectrum in both humans and animals, ranging from localized cutaneous lesions in cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), to mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) involving destruction of mucosal interfaces and finally the lethal visceral leishmaniasis (VL), where parasite invade internal organs.
Upon infection, there is a complex interplay between the parasite and the immune system of the host. This interplay spans both innate and adaptive immune cells and offsets a series of molecular, functional, and phenotypic changes in the context of immune regulation, that plays a determining role in either the establishment of infection or infection control.

Understanding the phenotype, molecular functionality, and treatment potential of the cellular components that underly host cell-Leishmania interaction is critical to the development of cellular-based host-directed therapies, either as stand-alone therapies or as combination therapies with current anti-leishmanial drugs.

This Research Topic will focus on the cellular components of innate and adaptive immunity during leishmaniasis, in the context of CL, MCL or VL. This includes research and reviews that support a deeper understanding of the phenotype, functionality, and treatment potential of different cell-cell interactions during infection.

This Research Topic accepts Original Research, Review and Mini-Review. We welcome manuscripts focusing on, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:

• Biomarker discovery in novel or existing cell populations.

• Regulation of signaling cascade/s (paracrine, autocrine and/or endocrine).

• Interplay between immune cells and immune enzymes, cytokines, signaling and extracellular vesicles.

• Cell-based treatment approaches

• Immune mechanisms involved in regulation or pathogenesis as tolerance, suppression, senescence and/or exhaustion.

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Frontiers in Immunology

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