Loss of the BBSome perturbs endocytic trafficking and disrupts virulence of Trypanosoma brucei.

ABSTRACT: Cilia (eukaryotic flagella) are present in diverse eukaryotic lineages and have essential motility and sensory functions. The cilium's capacity to sense and transduce extracellular signals depends on dynamic trafficking of ciliary membrane proteins. This trafficking is often mediated by the Bardet-Biedl Syndrome complex (BBSome), a protein complex for which the precise subcellular distribution and mechanisms of action are unclear. In humans, BBSome defects perturb ciliary membrane protein distribution and manifest clinically as Bardet-Biedl Syndrome. Cilia are also important in several parasites that cause tremendous human suffering worldwide, yet biology of the parasite BBSome remains largely unexplored. We examined BBSome functions in Trypanosoma brucei, a flagellated protozoan parasite

SUBMITTER: Langousis G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4725476 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature