Leishmania
genus protozoan parasites have developed various strategies to overcome host cell protective mechanisms favoring their survival and propagation. Recent findings in the field propose a new player in this infectious strategy, the
Leishmania
exosomes. Exosomes are eukaryotic extracellular vesicles essential to cell communication in various biological contexts. In fact, there have been an increasing number of reports over the last 10 years regarding the role of protozoan parasite exosomes,
Leishmania
exosomes included, in their capacity to favor infection and propagation within their hosts. In this review, we will discuss the latest findings regarding
Leishmania
exosome function during infectious conditions with a strong focus on
Leishmania
-host interaction from a mammalian perspective. We also compare the immunomodulatory properties of
Leishmania
exosomes to other parasite exosomes, demonstrating the conserved, important role that exosomes play during parasite infection.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.