Identification and analysis of epimastigote surface and metabolic proteins in Trypanosoma cruzi.
Metabolic and surface membrane proteins of four epimastigote-stage Trypanosoma cruzi clones were analyzed by one and two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. No major inter-clonal differences were observed in the metabolic protein patterns, indicating that these proteins are highly conserved. However, marked quantitative and qualitative differences were observed in surface-labeled protein patterns following both one and two-dimensional electrophoretic analyses. Inter and intra-clonal differences in antigenic properties also were demonstrated by immunoprecipitation of the surface proteins with sera from animals immunized or infected with various T. cruzi stocks. Thus, a wide spectrum of both phenotypic and antigenic diversity exists in T. cruzi which may be relevant to problems of the diagnosis and immunotherapy of Chagas' disease.
D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis*; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000032:analysis*; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D006801:Humans; D007120:Immunochemistry; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D010641:Phenotype; D011506:Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*
D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011506:Proteins