CP and infection: The presence of Leishmania DNA in the CP, as well as peripheral inflammatory mediators induced by infection, could activate local Toll-like receptors, such as TLRs 2 and 9, which are increased in the CP of dogs with CanL [28], and then trigger the production of cytokines and chemokines in other CNS cells of infected dogs [11,27], such as microglia and astrocytes, which are absent in the CP, but exhibit an activated phenotype in CanL.