The parasitic disease leishmaniasis in its various clinical manifestations from self-resolving skin lesion to deadly systemic infection is a serious health problem in many developing countries and is considered to be a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization. To date, a vaccine is lacking and strategies to treat severe forms of leishmaniasis efficiently are missing.

Basic research using animal models of experimental visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis has allowed to dissect the immune response to parasitic pathogens and has contributed substantially to many important, paradigm-changing insights such as the role of cytokines in helper T-cell differentiation and the impact of myeloid cell subsets on innate and adaptive immunity. One strength of experimental leishmaniasis is that tissue-associated parasites constitute a self-renewing antigen reservoir that needs to be controlled by adaptive and innate branches of the immune response. Therefore, mechanisms involved in wound healing, chronic inflammation, host pathogen interactions and the development of long lasting memory responses can be interrogated.

This research topic aims to cover a broad range of important concepts in adaptive and innate immunity to leishmaniasis and will include recent work, including vaccine development, to understand and fight this tropical disease. We welcome both reviews and original research articles that cover the latest breakthroughs in leishmaniasis research. We recognize that reproducibility is a fundamental aspect of research and thus welcome also confirmatory studies.

Keywords: leishmaniasis, innate immunity, adaptive immunity, vaccines

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