Abstract
Most of the vaccination studies in leishmaniasis are done with antigens or the DNA of the promastigote form (Chapter 12 and 13). Once the sandfly (carrier of the Leishmania promastigote form) bites the host skin, promastigotes are internalized by phagocytic cells from the dermis and transform amastigotes. Amastigotes are the most relevant form of the Leishmania parasite because they ultimately cause the pathology in the host. Amastigotes maintain the infection within the vertebrate hosts, replicating in the parasitophorous vacuole and eventually leading to the destruction of host cells and the invasion of new macrophages. Researchers should focus on molecules that are preferentially expressed in the amastigote stage, as they could be promising vaccine candidates for leishmaniasis.
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