Editorial: Immunology and immunopathogenesis of human leishmaniasis

Abstract

Editorial on the Research Topic Immunology and immunopathogenesis of human leishmaniasisLeishmaniasis is a disease that affects people and animals worldwide and can be broadly divided into visceral (VL) and tegumentary (TL) forms. TL caused by Leishmania braziliensis presents a wide spectrum de clinical manifestations ranging from a single and typical ulcer known as CL to the involvement of nasal or oral mucosal, mucosal leishmaniasis (ML). Between both clinical forms, there is diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) caused by Leishmania amazonensis. This spectrum included atypical cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) characterized by vegetative, verrucous, crusted and lupoid lesions (Guimarães et al., 2016). Human VL is characterized by depressed cellmediated immunity and decreased Th1 immune response (Carvalho et al., 1989;Bacellar et al., 2000). Also, VL is associated with increased production of multiple proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines (Saporito et al., 2013;Palacios et al., 2021;Tasew et al., 2021).Human CL caused by Leishmania braziliensis is characterized by an exacerbated cellular immune response and scarce numbers of parasites in the lesions (Bittencourt and Barral, 1991;Saldanha et al., 2017). The presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology frontiersin.org 01