A remarkable characteristic of infectious diseases classified as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) is the fact that they are mostly transmitted in tropical and subtropical regions with poor conditions of sanitation and low access to healthcare, which makes transmission areas more likely to overlap. Two of the most important NTDs, schistosomiasis and leishmaniasis, despite being caused by very different etiological agents, have their pathogenesis heavily associated with immune-mediated mechanisms, and spp. and spp. have been shown to simultaneously infect humans. Still, the consequences of coinfections remain underexplored. As the inflammatory processes elicited by each one of these parasites can influence the other, several changes have been observed due to this coinfection in naturally infected humans, experimental models, and in vitro cell assays, including modifications in susceptibility to infection, pathogenesis, prognostic, and response to treatment. Herein, we review the current knowledge in coinfections in both human populations and experimental models, with special regard to how schistosomiasis affects tegumentary leishmaniasis, discuss future perspectives, and suggest a few steps to further improve our understanding in this model of parasite-host-parasite interaction.
BT - Tropical medicine and infectious disease C1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37624321 DA - 07/2023 DO - 10.3390/tropicalmed8080383 IS - 8 J2 - Trop Med Infect Dis LA - ENG M3 - Article N2 -A remarkable characteristic of infectious diseases classified as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) is the fact that they are mostly transmitted in tropical and subtropical regions with poor conditions of sanitation and low access to healthcare, which makes transmission areas more likely to overlap. Two of the most important NTDs, schistosomiasis and leishmaniasis, despite being caused by very different etiological agents, have their pathogenesis heavily associated with immune-mediated mechanisms, and spp. and spp. have been shown to simultaneously infect humans. Still, the consequences of coinfections remain underexplored. As the inflammatory processes elicited by each one of these parasites can influence the other, several changes have been observed due to this coinfection in naturally infected humans, experimental models, and in vitro cell assays, including modifications in susceptibility to infection, pathogenesis, prognostic, and response to treatment. Herein, we review the current knowledge in coinfections in both human populations and experimental models, with special regard to how schistosomiasis affects tegumentary leishmaniasis, discuss future perspectives, and suggest a few steps to further improve our understanding in this model of parasite-host-parasite interaction.
PY - 2023 SP - 1 EP - 14 T2 - Tropical medicine and infectious disease TI - Schistosoma and Leishmania: An Untold Story of Coinfection UR - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10458104/pdf/tropicalmed-08-00383.pdf VL - 8 SN - 2414-6366 ER -