T-cell activation, senescence, and exhaustion in asymptomatic HIV/Leish co-infection.

Background: is an opportunistic parasitic infection. An immunocompromised state increases the risk of converting asymptomatic infection to symptomatic visceral leishmaniasis (VL), which has a ~5% fatality rate even with treatment. HIV coinfection increases the risk of death from VL.

Cross-Reactivity Using Chimeric Trypanosoma cruzi Antigens: Diagnostic Performance in Settings Where Chagas Disease and American Cutaneous or Visceral Leishmaniasis Are Coendemic.

Chimeric antigens have been proposed as a diagnostic tool for chronic Chagas disease (CD) in both settings where Chagas disease is endemic and those where it is not endemic. Antibody response varies in accordance to each strain, presenting challenges to the use of antigens lacking demonstrated cross-reactivity with spp. Our group expressed four chimeric proteins (IBMP-8.