Architecture of a Host-Parasite Interface: Complex Targeting Mechanisms Revealed Through Proteomics.

ABSTRACT: Surface membrane organization and composition is key to cellular function, and membrane proteins serve many essential roles in endocytosis, secretion, and cell recognition. The surface of parasitic organisms, however, is a double-edged sword; this is the primary interface between parasites and their hosts, and those crucial cellular processes must be carried out while avoiding elimination by the host immune defenses. For extracellular African trypanosomes, the surface is partitioned such that all endo- and exocytosis is directed through a specific membrane region, the flagellar pocket, in which it is thought the majority of invariant surface proteins reside. However, very few of these proteins have been identified, severely limiting functional studies, and hampering the development of pote

SUBMITTER: Gadelha C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4587319 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature