Macrophages participate in host protection and the disease pathology associated with Leishmania braziliensis infection

Background Leishmania preferentially infects macrophages, which allow the parasite to multiply but can also kill the parasite. Although the T cell response in human leishmaniasis is well-characterized, little is known about the concomitant macrophage behavior. The aim of this study was to characterize the macrophage immune response after Leishmania braziliensis infection in cells derived from cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) or mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) patients, subclinical individuals (SC) and healthy control subjects (HS).