Identification of a disulfide isomerase protein of Leishmania major as a putative virulence factor.

ABSTRACT: Several approaches have been previously used to elucidate the genetic basis of Leishmania virulence. In general, they were based on laboratory Leishmania clones genetically modified or grown in the presence of selecting agents. In a previous study, we demonstrated that Leishmania major freshly isolated from human cutaneous lesions showed significant differences in the severity of the experimental disease induced in BALB/c mice. Here, using the mRNA differential display technique, we analyzed gene expression in L. major promastigotes showing different levels of virulence. We have identified a novel Leishmania gene encoding a 477-amino-acid protein exhibiting two distinct regions that are identical to the putative active-site sequence (CGHC) of the eukaryotic protein disulfide isomerase (PDI

SUBMITTER: Ben Achour Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC128112 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature