Metabolic pathways required for the intracellular survival of Leishmania

Leishmania spp. are sandfly-transmitted parasitic protozoa that cause a spectrum of important diseases and lifelong chronic infections in humans. In the mammalian host, these parasites proliferate within acidified vacuoles in several phagocytic host cells, including macrophages, dendritic cells, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnual review of microbiology Vol. 65; p. 543
Main Authors McConville, Malcolm J, Naderer, Thomas
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.2011
Subjects
Animals
Cell Survival
Humans
Leishmania - genetics
Leishmania - growth & development
Leishmania - metabolism
Leishmania - pathogenicity
Leishmaniasis - metabolism
Leishmaniasis - parasitology
Metabolic Networks and Pathways
Virulence
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Summary:Leishmania spp. are sandfly-transmitted parasitic protozoa that cause a spectrum of important diseases and lifelong chronic infections in humans. In the mammalian host, these parasites proliferate within acidified vacuoles in several phagocytic host cells, including macrophages, dendritic cells, and neutrophils. In this review, we discuss recent progress that has been made in defining the nutrient composition of the Leishmania parasitophorous vacuole, as well as metabolic pathways required by these parasites for virulence. Analysis of the virulence phenotype of Leishmania mutants has been particularly useful in defining carbon sources and nutrient salvage pathways that are essential for parasite persistence and/or induction of pathology. We also review data suggesting that intracellular parasite stages modulate metabolic processes in their host cells in order to generate a more permissive niche.
ISSN:1545-3251
DOI:10.1146/annurev-micro-090110-102913