Antigenic variation: extending the reach of telomeric silencing.
Immune evasion in the parasitic African trypanosome relies upon the silencing of variant surface glycoprotein genes that are found adjacent to telomeres. Work on the RAP1 telomere-binding protein now indicates that silencing spreads over a sufficient distance to repress these genes.
Horn
David
D
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK. david.horn@lshtm.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D000940:Antigenic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006801:Humans; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*; D034501:Telomere-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014643:Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
D034501:Telomere-Binding Proteins; D014643:Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma