ABSTRACT
Zeishmania parasites are sandfly-transmitted protozan pathogens that cause a spectrum of important diseases in humans, but have also served as important model organisms for the characterization of antimicrobial effector mechanisms. In both mice and humans NADPH phagocyte oxidase (phox) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) seem to be most relevant for the control and killing of intracellular Leishmania, but oxygen-independent pathways might also exist. This chapter will review the in vitro and in vivo evidence for the antileishmanial function of phox and iNOS.
