Zhang Q, Wise K S
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri 65212, USA.
Infect Immun. 2001 Aug;69(8):5177-81. doi: 10.1128/IAI.69.8.5177-5181.2001.
A new mechanism expanding mycoplasmal surface diversity is described. Exposure of surface epitopes on a constitutively expressed membrane protein (P56) of Mycoplasma hominis was subject to high-frequency phase variation due to phase-variable expression of the P120 antigen and its selective masking of P56 epitopes. Phase-variable masking may confer previously unrealized adaptive capabilities on mycoplasmas.
描述了一种扩展支原体表面多样性的新机制。人型支原体组成性表达的膜蛋白(P56)上的表面表位暴露,由于P120抗原的相变异表达及其对P56表位的选择性掩盖,而经历高频相变异。相变异掩盖可能赋予支原体以前未实现的适应能力。