title: Flagellar membrane proteins in kinetoplastid parasites.
abstract: All kinetoplastid parasites, including protozoa such as Leishmania species, Trypanosoma brucei, and Trypanosoma cruzi that cause devastating diseases in humans and animals, are flagellated throughout their life cycles. Although flagella were originally thought of primarily as motility organelles, flagellar functions in other critical processes, especially in sensing and signal transduction, have become more fully appreciated in the recent past. The flagellar membrane is a highly specialized subdomain of the surface membrane, and flagellar membrane proteins are likely to be critical components for all the biologically important roles of flagella. In this review, we summarize recent discoveries relevant to flagellar membrane proteins in these parasites, including the identification of such proteins, investigation of their biological functions, and mechanisms of selective trafficking to the flagellar membrane. Prospects for future investigations and current unsolved problems are highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Landfear
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Khoa D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Marco A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sanchez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D005407:Flagella / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D016830:Kinetoplastida / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D010271:Parasites / Q000378:metabolism*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins
keywords: channels; environmental sensing; flagellar membrane; kinetoplastid parasites; receptors; subcellular targeting; transporters