Dear Colleagues,

At present, drug treatment is the only therapeutic intervention for Chagas disease and human leishmaniasis, as well as for human and animal African trypanosomiasis. These diseases are caused by the single-cell protozoan parasites Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp., and by T. brucei and a group of trypanosomatids including T. congolense, T. evansi, and T. vivax. All these pathogens are classified in the family Trypanosomatidae (class Kinetoplastea; order: Trypanosomatida); their life-cycles involve an insect vector stage, and usually lead to chronic infections. Biologically, T. cruzi and Leishmania spp. have an obliged intracellular replicative stage in mammals, while the rest are free-living in the bloodstream.

In common with other Neglected Tropical Diseases, antitrypanosomatid chemotherapies either entail long-term regimens of administration and/or have severe toxicity associated, compromising treatment adherence. Additionally, treatment efficacies during the chronic phase can be variable, and the appearance of drug resistances has been documented. Therefore, availability of protective or therapeutic vaccines for them would mean a breakthrough towards controlling their impact, which collectively affects several hundred million people worldwide.

In the last decade, vaccine development efforts have intensified, but the vast majority of the candidates under study have not gone beyond preclinical evaluation. In part, this is due to the fact that trypanosomatid parasites have evolved a plethora of immune evasion mechanisms. Thus, achieving a better understanding of the complex interactions between these pathogens and their hosts´ immune systems could greatly contribute to finding vaccines against them.

Accordingly, Pathogens is launching a Special Issue devoted to “Immunity and Vaccine Development Efforts against Trypanosomatid Parasites”. This Special Issue will welcome both original research and review articles. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Trypanosomatid parasites–host immunity interactions;
• Identification of pathogenic mechanisms in trypanosomatid diseases;
• Design and evaluation of vaccine candidates;
• Use of novel vaccinology approaches.

Dr. Julio Alonso-Padilla
Dr. Pascal Bigey
Guest Editors

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• animal trypanosomiasis
• Chagas disease
• human African trypanosomiasis
• leishmaniasis
• host-immunity
• Leishmania spp
• trypanosomes
• vaccine