Transcription Dependent Loss of an Ectopically Expressed Variant Surface Glycoprotein during Antigenic Variation in Trypanosoma brucei.

ABSTRACT: In the mammalian host, Trypanosoma brucei is coated in a single-variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) species. Stochastic switching of the expressed VSG allows the parasite to escape detection by the host immune system. DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) trigger VSG switching, and repair via gene conversion results in an antigenically distinct VSG being expressed from the single active bloodstream-form expression site (BES). The single active BES is marked by VSG exclusion 2 (VEX2) protein. Here, we have disrupted monoallelic VSG expression by stably expressing a second telomeric VSG from a ribosomal locus. We found that cells expressing two VSGs contained one VEX2 focus that was significantly larger in size than the wild-type cells; this therefore sugges

SUBMITTER: McLaughlin EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8941856 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature