Leishmania-infected human dendritic cells clear their intracellular parasites by a mechanism involving the cytolytic effector molecules granzyme B and granulysin
- 1Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universitat Berlin, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, 10098 Berlin,
Abstract
Leishmania are intracellular parasites that cause various human diseases ranging from self-healing cutaneous to fatal visceral leishmaniasis. Host cells are phagocytes, primarily macrophages, where the parasites neutralize innate immune defenses, proliferate and finally rupture the cells. Despite that, Leishmania infection induces vigorous T cell responses, which require antigen processing and presentation, and stimulation by phagocytes, importantly dendritic cells. It was not clear how to align blockade of phagocyte functions with efficient immune stimulation. Here we show that, in contrast to macrophages, human dendritic cells survive the infection and destroy the parasites. This process involves granzyme B and granulysin, two cytolytic molecules essential for destruction of infected or otherwise aberrant cells by cytolytic T cells and natural killer cells. The report for the first time shows that these molecules not only act in target cell lysis by cytolytic effector cells but also in intracellular processing of infectious agents by dendritic cells.
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BibTeX
@misc{azzouz2026leishmaniainfected,
title = {{Leishmania-infected human dendritic cells clear their intracellular parasites by a mechanism involving the cytolytic effector molecules granzyme B and granulysin}},
author = {I. M. Azzouz and R. B. Baleeiro and L. W. Nyambura and A. Kundik and P. Walden},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.08.757588},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.757588v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Leishmania-infected human dendritic cells clear their intracellular parasites by a mechanism involving the cytolytic effector molecules granzyme B and granulysin
AU - I. M. Azzouz
AU - R. B. Baleeiro
AU - L. W. Nyambura
AU - A. Kundik
AU - P. Walden
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.08.757588
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.757588v1
AB - Leishmania are intracellular parasites that cause various human diseases ranging from self-healing cutaneous to fatal visceral leishmaniasis. Host cells are phagocytes, primarily macrophages, where the parasites neutralize innate immune defenses, proliferate and finally rupture the cells. Despite that, Leishmania infection induces vigorous T cell responses, which require antigen processing and presentation, and stimulation by phagocytes, importantly dendritic cells. It was not clear how to align blockade of phagocyte functions with efficient immune stimulation. Here we show that, in contrast to macrophages, human dendritic cells survive the infection and destroy the parasites. This process involves granzyme B and granulysin, two cytolytic molecules essential for destruction of infected or otherwise aberrant cells by cytolytic T cells and natural killer cells. The report for the first time shows that these molecules not only act in target cell lysis by cytolytic effector cells but also in intracellular processing of infectious agents by dendritic cells.
ER -