Brossier Fabien, David Sibley L
Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Campus Box 8230, Saint Louis, MO 63110-1093, USA.
Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2005 Nov;37(11):2266-72. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2005.06.006.
The phylum Apicomplexa contains parasites responsible for a variety of diseases including malaria, cryptosporidiosis, and toxoplasmosis. One of the common features of these parasites is that they contain a set of apical organelles whose sequential secretion is required for the invasion of host cells. Microneme proteins are the main adhesins involved in the attachment to the host cell surface by apicomplexans. The microneme protein MIC2, produced by Toxoplasma gondii, is conserved in apicomplexans and serves as a model to understand the first steps of invasion by the phylum. New data about the structure-function relationship of MIC2 reinforce the critical role of this protein in the successful invasion of cells by Toxoplasma and reveal potential therapeutic targets that may be used to control toxoplasmosis.
顶复门包含导致多种疾病的寄生虫，包括疟疾、隐孢子虫病和弓形虫病。这些寄生虫的一个共同特征是它们含有一组顶端细胞器，其顺序分泌是侵入宿主细胞所必需的。微线体蛋白是顶复门寄生虫附着于宿主细胞表面的主要黏附素。由刚地弓形虫产生的微线体蛋白MIC2在顶复门中保守，是理解该门寄生虫入侵第一步的模型。关于MIC2结构-功能关系的新数据强化了该蛋白在弓形虫成功侵入细胞中的关键作用，并揭示了可能用于控制弓形虫病的潜在治疗靶点。
