Experimental cutaneous Leishmaniasis:: a powerful model to study in vivo the mechanisms underlying genetic differences in Th subset differentiation

The murine model of infection with Leishmania major has allowed the demonstration in vivo of the importance CD4(+) T cell subsets, distinguishable by the pattern of cytokines they produce, on the outcome of infectious diseases. Genetically determined resistance and susceptibility to infection with this parasite are the result of the development of Th1 and Th2 response, respectively. In this short paper, we present some results obtained in our group pertaining to the analysis of the mechanisms, operational during the early phase of this infection, responsible for the maturation of these functionally distinct CD4(+) responses.