title: Antigenic variation in the persistence and transmission of the ehrlichia Anaplasma marginale.
abstract: Tick-borne transmission of ehrlichial pathogens requires rickettsemic reservoir hosts to maintain a population of infected vectors. Persistence in their respective mammalian hosts appears to be a common feature of the tick-transmitted ehrlichiae. How infection persists in immunocompetent hosts is unknown. In this review, we describe studies on Anaplasma marginale, an ehrlichial pathogen of cattle, that support antigenic variation as a primary mechanism of persistence.
authors.affiliation: Program in Vector-Borne Diseases, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-7040, USA.
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Rurangirwa
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000709:Anaplasma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D000818:Animals; D000940:Antigenic Variation; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C103348:msp2 protein, Anaplasma marginale