Fig 3. TGF-β induced by Leishmania infection binds to TGF-β receptor causing its phosphorylation and subsequent SMAD2/SMAD3-dependent transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of miRNA expression in macrophages.

These miRNAs make complexes with the target mRNAs—one miRNA binding to many mRNAs—to destabilize or suppress mRNAs translation. Depending on the miRNAs up-regulated or down-regulated, proleishmanial or antileishmanial effects are observed. miRNA, microRNA.