Role of Membrane Cholesterol in Leishmanial Infection

Abstract

Leishmania is an obligate intracellular parasite that can invade and survive within host macrophages resulting in leishmaniasis, a major public health problem worldwide. The entry of intracellular parasites in general involves interaction with the plasma membrane of host cells. The molecular mechanisms involved in internalization of Leishmania are poorly characterized. Cholesterol in host cell membranes has recently been found to be necessary for binding and internalization of Leishmania. We propose that the reduction in leishmanial infection by cholesterol depletion/sequestration could be exploited to develop novel therapeutic strategies against leishmaniasis. This approach has the advantage of avoiding the commonly encountered drug resistance problem in tackling leishmaniasis.