hijacks host cell lysosomes involved in plasma membrane repair to induce invasion in fibroblasts.

Intracellular parasites of the genus are the causative agents of leishmaniasis. The disease is transmitted by the bite of a sand fly vector, which inoculates the parasite into the skin of mammalian hosts, including humans. During chronic infection the parasite lives and replicates inside phagocytic cells, notably the macrophages.