Variations in the Peritrophic Matrix Composition of Heparan Sulphate from the Tsetse Fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans.

ABSTRACT: Tsetse flies are the principal insect vectors of African trypanosomes-sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle. One of the tsetse fly species, Glossina morsitans morsitans, is host to the parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, a major cause of African trypanosomiasis. Precise details of the life cycle have yet to be established, but the parasite life cycle involves crossing the insect peritrophic matrix (PM). The PM consists of the polysaccharide chitin, several hundred proteins, and both glycosamino- and galactosaminoglycan (GAG) polysaccharides. Owing to the technical challenges of detecting small amounts of GAG polysaccharides, their conclusive identification and composition have not been possible until now. Following removal of PMs from the insects and the application of heparinases (ba

SUBMITTER: Rogerson E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5874758 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature