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Published on: August 27, 2021
Structure and mechanism in salivary proteins from blood-feeding arthropods
1Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 2E-32B Twinbrook 3 Bldg, 12735 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. jandersen@niaid.nih.gov
Abstract:
The saliva of blood-feeding arthropods contains rich mixtures of ligand binding proteins targeted at inhibiting hemostasis and inflammation in the host. Since blood feeding has evolved many times, different taxonomic groups utilize completely different families of proteins to perform similar tasks. Structural studies performed on a number of these proteins have revealed biologically novel and sophisticated mechanisms used to perform their functions. Here, the results of these structural and mechanistic studies are reviewed.
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