Structural characterization and epitope mapping of the glutamic acid/alanine-rich protein from Trypanosoma congolense: defining assembly on the parasite cell surface.

ABSTRACT: Trypanosoma congolense is an African trypanosome that causes serious disease in cattle in Sub-Saharan Africa. The four major life cycle stages of T. congolense can be grown in vitro, which has led to the identification of several cell-surface molecules expressed on the parasite during its transit through the tsetse vector. One of these, glutamic acid/alanine-rich protein (GARP), is the first expressed on procyclic forms in the tsetse midgut and is of particular interest because it replaces the major surface coat molecule of bloodstream forms, the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) that protects the parasite membrane, and is involved in antigenic variation. Unlike VSG, however, the function of GARP is not known, which necessarily limits our understanding of parasite survival in the tsetse.

SUBMITTER: Loveless BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3121512 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature