Buscaglia Carlos A, Campo Vanina A, Frasch Alberto C C, Di Noia Javier M
Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas-Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (IIB-INTECH), Universidad Nacional de General San Martn-CONICET, San Martín (1650), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Nat Rev Microbiol. 2006 Mar;4(3):229-36. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro1351.
The surface of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is covered in mucins, which contribute to parasite protection and to the establishment of a persistent infection. Their importance is highlighted by the fact that the approximately 850 mucin-encoding genes comprise approximately 1% of the parasite genome and approximately 6% of all predicted T. cruzi genes. The coordinate expression of a large repertoire of mucins containing variable regions in the mammal-dwelling stages of the T. cruzi life cycle suggests a possible strategy to thwart the host immune response. Here, we discuss the expression profiling of T. cruzi mucins, the mechanisms leading to the acquisition of mucin diversity and the possible consequences of a mosaic surface coat in the interplay between parasite and host.
原生动物寄生虫克氏锥虫的表面覆盖着黏蛋白，这些黏蛋白有助于寄生虫的保护以及持续性感染的建立。大约850个黏蛋白编码基因约占寄生虫基因组的1%，约占所有预测的克氏锥虫基因的6%，这一事实凸显了它们的重要性。在克氏锥虫生命周期的哺乳动物寄生阶段，大量含有可变区的黏蛋白的协同表达表明这可能是一种抵御宿主免疫反应的策略。在此，我们讨论克氏锥虫黏蛋白的表达谱分析、导致黏蛋白多样性产生的机制以及镶嵌表面被膜在寄生虫与宿主相互作用中可能产生的后果。
