Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Purification of Extracellular Trypanosomes, Including African, from Blood by Anion-Exchangers (Diethylaminoethyl-cellulose Columns)
Published on: April 6, 2019
Restless gossamers: antibody clearance by hydrodynamic flow forces generated at the surface of motile trypanosome
Samuel D Dean1, Keith R Matthews
1Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, Ashworth Laboratories, King's Buildings, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK.
Abstract:
Trypanosomes evade antibody-mediated lysis via antigenic variation and rapid antibody removal from their cell surface. Recently, in Cell, Engstler et al. (2007) have discovered the mechanism for antibody clearance. Hydrodynamic forces generated by trypanosome swimming create a current, causing surface-bound antibodies to act as "molecular sails." Consequently, they are swept to the cell posterior, internalized via the flagellar-pocket, and degraded. Hydrodynamic sorting is a novel biological process, possibly applicable in other contexts.
