Summary:
- Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have identified a specific protein mechanism that allows the *Leishmania* parasite to evade the host immune system by hijacking the cell's internal transport machinery.
- The study reveals that the parasite secretes a protein called LmSNARE, which disrupts the host cell's phagolysosome formation, allowing the parasite to survive and replicate within an intracellular compartment that would otherwise be lethal.
- These findings provide a significant breakthrough in understanding the pathogenesis of leishmaniasis and offer a promising new target for the development of therapeutic interventions to combat the disease.