Leishmania, an obligate intracellular parasite, binds several receptors to trigger engulfment by phagocytes, leading to cutaneous or visceral disease. These receptors include complement receptor 3 (CR3), used by promastigotes, and the Fc receptor (FcR), used by amastigotes. The mechanisms mediating uptake are not well understood. Here we show that Abl family kinases mediate both phagocytosis and the uptake of Leishmania amazonensis by macrophages (Ms). Imatinib, an Abl/Arg kinase inhibitor, decreases opsonized polystyrene bead phagocytosis and Leishmania uptake. Interestingly, phagocytosis of IgG-coated beads is decreased in Arg-deficient Ms, while that of C3bi-coated beads is unaffected. Conversely, uptake of C3bi-coated beads is decreased in Abl-deficient Ms, but that of IgG-coated beads is unaffected. Consistent with these results, Abl-deficient Ms are inefficient at C3bi-opsonized promastigote uptake, and Arg-deficient Ms are defective in IgG1-opsonized amastigote uptake. Finally, genetic loss of Abl or Arg reduces infection severity in murine cutaneous leishmaniasis, and imatinib treatment results in smaller lesions with fewer parasites than in controls. Our studies are the first to demonstrate that efficient phagocytosis and maximal Leishmania infection require Abl family kinases. These results highlight Abl family kinase-mediated signaling pathways as potential therapeutic targets for leishmaniasis. L eishmania parasites cause cutaneous or visceral disease in 1 to 2 million people a year in the developing world (17). Leishmania undergoes two life cycle stages: (i) the promastigote, found in the sand fly, and (ii) the amastigote, found in mammalian hosts. When an infected sand fly bites a host, the injected promastigotes must be engulfed by phagocytes to establish infection. The promastigotes then differentiate into amastigotes within the phagolysosome. If the amastigote finds itself outside a cell, it must be reengulfed for continued infection (23).Several M surface proteins permit Leishmania uptake. Promastigote internalization is mediated by the fibronectin receptor (integrin ␣51) (2), the mannose-fucose receptor (63, 64), and complement receptors CR1 (10) and CR3 (38). Promastigotes may interact directly with CR3 (49), but binding is facilitated by opsonization with C3bi, a complement component (22,37,40,45). Both CR3 and the Fc receptor (FcR) mediate amastigote uptake (16); interactions with the latter are facilitated by IgG opsonization (35). The FcR subclass Fc␥R, which mediates IgG-mediated phagocytosis (33), is most likely responsible for amastigote uptake by Ms. Indeed, internalization of IgG-opsonized amastigotes via FcR␥I and -III sustains infection in murine cutaneous leishmaniasis (8,24,65). Adhesion of Leishmania to any of these receptors causes an actin-rich phagocytic cup to form and engulf the parasite (30). Our study explores the requirement for actin regulatory proteins in efficient Leishmania internalization.The Abl family kinases Abl and Arg translate signals from adhesion and growth...