Molecular genetics of antigenic variation.
Antigenic variation is one of the most effective strategies developed by parasites to escape immune destruction. It requires a large wardrobe of surface coats and mechanisms to exchange one coat for an unrelated one. The molecular principles of antigenic variation are now largely known in the bacterial species Borrelia and Neisseria and in the protozoa of the African trypanosome group and these three examples are discussed here by Piet Borst.
Borst
P
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The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam.
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000940:Antigenic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D001898:Borrelia / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005796:Genes; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009343:Neisseria / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D014643:Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D014643:Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma; C050308:opacity proteins; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins