Lipophosphoglycan is a virulence factor distinct from related glycoconjugates in the protozoan parasite Leishmania major.

ABSTRACT: Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania undergo a complex life cycle involving transmission by biting sand flies and replication within mammalian macrophage phagolysosomes. A major component of the Leishmania surface coat is the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored polysaccharide called lipophosphoglycan (LPG). LPG has been proposed to play many roles in the infectious cycle, including protection against complement and oxidants, serving as the major ligand for macrophage adhesion, and as a key factor mitigating host responses by deactivation of macrophage signaling pathways. However, all structural domains of LPG are shared by other major surface or secretory products, providing a biochemical redundancy that compromises the ability of in vitro tests to establish whether LPG itse

SUBMITTER: Spath GF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC16855 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature