Project

Leishmania (L.) parasites are obligate intracellular pathogens that affect millions of people worldwide. Human cutaneous leishmaniasis (HCL) is the most common form of the disease worldwide and represents a serious public health problem. In Tunisia, three forms of LCH coexist: i) the so-called “zoonotic” HCL caused by L. major, ii) the chronic form of the disease caused by L. killicki (syn. L. tropica), and iii) the sporadic form of LCH caused by L. infantum.

The major objective of this proposal is to gain understanding on the nature, the expression, and the regulation of Leishmania virulence factors within a mixed focus through the investigation of transcriptomics differences between hyper- and hypo-pathogenic L. major and L. tropica field isolates using next generation sequencing. This approach will allow systems-wide insight into molecular mechanisms that govern Leishmania survival within its target host cell, which may find important applicability for the design of novel anti-parasitic intervention strategies.