How Does the VSG Coat of Bloodstream Form African Trypanosomes Interact with External Proteins?

ABSTRACT: Variations on the statement "the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) coat that covers the external face of the mammalian bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei acts a physical barrier" appear regularly in research articles and reviews. The concept of the impenetrable VSG coat is an attractive one, as it provides a clear model for understanding how a trypanosome population persists; each successive VSG protects the plasma membrane and is immunologically distinct from previous VSGs. What is the evidence that the VSG coat is an impenetrable barrier, and how do antibodies and other extracellular proteins interact with it? In this review, the nature of the extracellular surface of the bloodstream form trypanosome is described, and past experiments that investigated binding of antibodies and lect

SUBMITTER: Schwede A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4697842 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature