title: The nuclear envelope and gene organization in parasitic protozoa: Specializations associated with disease.
abstract: The parasitic protozoa Trypanosoma brucei and Plasmodium falciparum are lethal human parasites that have developed elegant strategies of immune evasion by antigenic variation. Despite the vast evolutionary distance between the two taxa, both parasites employ strict monoallelic expression of their membrane proteins, variant surface glycoproteins in Trypanosomes and the var, rif and stevor genes in Plasmodium, in order to evade their host's immune system. Additionally, both telomeric location and epigenetic controls are prominent features of these membrane proteins. As such, telomeres, chromatin structure and nuclear organization all contribute to control of gene expression and immune evasion. Here, we discuss the importance of epigenetics and sub-nuclear context for the survival of these disease-causing parasites.
authors.affiliation: The Rockefeller University, Laboratory of Cellular and Structural Biology, Box 213 New York, NY, 10065, USA. Electronic address: sobado@rockefeller.edu.
authors.forename: Samson O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Obado
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasites and Insect Vectors, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Glover
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Kirk W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Deitsch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000940:Antigenic Variation; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D023061:Gene Order; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D016678:Genome; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D009685:Nuclear Envelope / Q000378:metabolism*; D010271:Parasites / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity
keywords: Heterochromatin; Immunity; Nucleus; Plasmodium; Transcription; Trypanosome