T Helper1/T Helper2 Cells and Resistance/Susceptibility to Leishmania Infection: Is This Paradigm Still Relevant?

Work in large part on Leishmania major in the 1980s identified two distinct apparently counter-regulatory CD4(+) T cell populations, T helper (h)1 and Th2, that controlled resistance/susceptibility to infection respectively. However, the generation of IL-4(−/−) mice in the 1990s questioned the paramount role of this Th2 archetypal cytokine in the non-healing response to Leishmania infection. The more recent characterization of CD4(+) T cell regulatory populations and further effector CD4(+) T helper populations, Th17, Th9, and T follicular (f)h cells as well as the acknowledged plasticity in T helper cell function has further added to the complexity of host pathogen interactions. These interactions are complicated by the multiplicity of cells that respond to CD4(+) T cell subset signatory cytokines, as well as the diversity of Leishmania species that are often subject to significantly different immune-regulatory controls. In this article we review current knowledge with regard to the role of CD4(+) T cells and their products during Leishmania infection. In particular we update on our studies using conditional IL-4Rα gene-deficient mice that have allowed dissection of the cell interplay dictating the disease outcomes of the major Leishmania species infecting humans.