Exploitation of the Host Cell Membrane Fusion Machinery by Leishmania Is Part of the Infection Process

Successful vacuolar pathogens have developed sophisticated strategies to hijack the endomembrane system of host cells, sabotage their signal transduction pathways, and evade antimicrobial responses. The protozoan parasite Leishmania, the causative agent of leishmaniases in humans, is particularly adept at transforming the macrophage into a hospitable host cell. Here, we describe how Leishmania promastigotes subvert the macrophage membrane fusion machinery to create an intracellular compartment favorable to the establishment of infection and to manipulate host immune responses.