Transcriptional profiling of the spleen in progressive visceral leishmaniasis reveals mixed expression of type 1 and type 2 cytokine-responsive genes

Background The Syrian golden hamster (Mesocricetus aureus) has been used as a model to study infections caused by a number of human pathogens. Studies of immunopathogenesis in hamster infection models are challenging because of the limited availability of reagents needed to define cellular and molecular determinants.