Alterations in Host Lipid Metabolism Produced During Visceral Leishmaniasis Infections

Abstract

Leishmania is an obligate intracellular parasite that depends on the host’s own lipid reservoirs to ensure its survival. The use of fats ranges from energy obtention to evasion of immune response, so this would alter the host’s lipid metabolism somehow. This article aims to review lipid metabolism of both parasite and host, and how the former affects the latter. Leishmania uses the host’s cholesterol to ensure macrophage phagocytosis and evade immune response. Additionally, the host’s lipid bodies have key roles in disease progression and development of the parasite inside the cell. This induces changes in the patient’s serum lipid profile like hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL levels. Changes in the lipid profile and metabolism in both parasite and host during development of the disease depend on the presence of lipid bodies. Further research is required to fully understand the relationship between the interactions between lipid metabolism of host and parasite, immune response, and the prognosis of the disease (Fig. 1).