Sustained parasite burden in the spleen of Leishmania infantum-infected BALB/c mice is accompanied by expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) transcripts and lack of protection against challenge.

INTRODUCTION Liver, spleen and bone marrow are major organ targets harbouring viscerotropic Leishmania species, L. infantum (chagasi) and L. donovani, in their mammalian hosts. In man, infection by L. infantum often remains asymptomatic [1-4], but clinically manifest human visceral leishmaniasis (VL), due to the parasite's uncontrolled multiplication, is a fatal disease if untreated [5]. Most studies of experimental infection of [...]