Immunity to Visceral Leishmaniasis
1Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4 Raja, S. C. Mullick Road, West Bengal, Kolkata 700 032, India
2Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 28017, 1000 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
3Departamento de Biología Molecular, Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” C/ Nicolás Cabrera, 1 Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
4Australian Centre for Vaccine Development, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, 300 Herston Road, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
Immunity to Visceral Leishmaniasis
Description
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar caused by Leishmania donovani complex (i.e., L. donovani and L. infantum in Old World and L. chagasi in New World) is prevalent in 62 countries with an estimated occurrence of 0.5 million new cases annually. The absence of an effective vaccine, as well as safe and cost-effective antileishmanial agents, together with the emergence of resistant parasite strains and immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection, have posed a serious challenge to the containment of the disease. Therefore, a better understanding of the host-parasite interactions and development of novel therapeutic and prophylactic modalities is needed for an effective control of VL.
We invite authors to submit original research and review articles that stimulate the ongoing effort to elucidate the complex immunological mechanism involved in pathogenesis, as well as in resistance to infection. We are interested in articles that explore aspects of antileishmanial immunity in humans, as well as in animal models. Manuscripts on immunochemotherapy, vaccination, and vaccine design are also welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Host-parasite interactions and disease pathogenesis
- Effects of sand fly saliva on Leishmania transmission and disease
- Immune responses in kala-azar and PKDL
- Development of vaccines against visceral leishmaniasis
- Immunotherapy in visceral leishmaniasis
- Immune responses in kala-azar patients with HIV coinfection
- Identifying immune evasion mechanisms employed by parasites
- Host cell signaling in visceral leishmaniasis
- Leishmania-induced alteration of host cell antigen presentation
- New cellular and animal models to understand immunity to parasites
- Molecules/antigens of Leishmania with serodiagnostic potential in visceral leishmaniasis
Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jtm/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: