Effect of the chemokine receptor CCR5 in the development of American cutaneous leishmaniasis in a Southern Brazilian population.

American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) shows a wide spectrum of clinical and immunopathological manifestations. The CCR5 chemokine receptor directs the immune response to a Th1 pattern and the mutant allele of this genotype (Δ32/Δ32) results in a less effective response, thus leading to a milder inflammation. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of the CCR5 chemokine receptor in the pathogenesis of ACL in a population of Southern Brazil.