Bloodstream form trypanosome plasma membrane proteins: antigenic variation and invariant antigens

Abstract excerpt

Trypanosoma brucei is exposed to the adaptive immune system and complement in the blood of its mammalian hosts. The aim of this review is to analyse the role and regulation of the proteins present on the external face of the plasma membrane in the long-term persistence of an infection and transmission. In particular, the following are addressed: (1) antigenic variation of the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG),...