Aiming to better understand the inflammatory signaling cascades triggered after Leishmania infection and how these pathways correlate with the different infection profiles observed between the two species of this parasite, we analyzed the signaling proteins ERK1/2 and NF-κB which are involved on the production of inflammatory mediators and the cleavage of caspase-3 as a marker of apoptosis. The gene discussed is CASP3; the disease is infection.