Resistance to Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis in Mice Infected With Leishmania infantum Requires Batf3

Unveiling the protective immune response to visceral leishmaniasis is critical for a rational design of vaccines aimed at reducing the impact caused by this fatal, if left untreated, vector-borne disease. In this study we sought to determine the role of the basic leucine zipper transcription factor ATF-like 3 (Batf3) in the evolution of infection with Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of human visceral leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean Basin and Latin America. For that, Batf3-deficient mice in C57BL/6 background were infected with an L. infantum strain expressing the luciferase gene. Bioluminescent imaging, as well as in vitro parasite titration, demonstrated that Batf3-deficient mice were unable to control hepatic parasitosis as opposed to wild-type C57BL/6 mice. The impaired microbicide capacities of L. infantum-infected macrophages from Batf3-deficient mice mainly correlated with a reduction of parasite-specific IFN-γ production. Our results reinforce the implication of Batf3 in the generation of type 1 immunity against infectious diseases.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación FISPI11/00095 and FISPI14/00366 (FEDER FUNDING) and the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (ISCIII-RETICRD16/0027/0008-FEDER). SI is funded by RYC-2016-19463 and RTI2018-343 094484-B-I00 from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (FEDER FUNDING). Institutional grants from the Fundación Ramón Areces and Banco de Santander to the CBMS