Leishmania Amastigote Vector Illustration

Leishmania amastigotes are the intracellular form of the Leishmania parasite. Leishmania is a genus of protozoan parasites that cause the disease leishmaniasis, which affects both humans and animals. The life cycle of Leishmania involves two main stages: the promastigote stage, which resides in the midgut of sandflies, and the amastigote stage, which proliferates inside the cells of the mammalian host, typically macrophages. Amastigotes are small, round, and non-flagellated forms of the parasite adapted for survival within the phagolysosomes of host cells. They replicate by binary fission within the host cells and are responsible for the pathological changes associated with leishmaniasis.