Maintaining the protective variant surface glycoprotein coat of African trypanosomes.
The African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei has a precarious existence as an extracellular parasite of the mammalian bloodstream, where it is faced with continuous immune attack. Key to survival is a dense VSG (variant surface glycoprotein) coat, which is repeatedly switched during the course of a chronic infection. New data demonstrate a link between VSG synthesis and cell cycle progression, indicating that VSG is monitored during the trypanosome cell cycle.
Rudenko
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Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SY, UK. gloria.rudenko@medawar.ox.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference; D014347:Trypanosoma brucei gambiense / Q000201:enzymology*; D014643:Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D014643:Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma