Figure 2.

Macrophage polarization status observed in post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients during acute disease and after treatment. Leishmania infection in humans has been studied in PKDL patients, in which features of M2-like polarization have been observed in both lesion sites and peripheral blood. M2-like polarization is characterized by the increased mRNA and/or protein expression of specific M2-like markers such as the nuclear peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ), the arginase-1 receptor, and the membrane mannose receptor CD206/mannose receptor (MR). After treatment, disease resolution is characterized by an M1-like profile repolarization, evidenced by the decreased expression of M2-like markers.