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Related Experiment Videos

Antigenic variation in Giardia lamblia.

T E Nash1

  • 1National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.

Experimental Parasitology
|February 1, 1989
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Giardia lamblia rapidly change their surface antigens, a process called antigenic variation. This rapid change, driven by genomic rearrangements, may explain chronic infections.

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Area of Science:

  • Parasitology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Giardia lamblia exhibits surface antigenic variation in vitro and in vivo.
  • Trophozoites can be detected in clones after exposure to cytotoxic monoclonal antibodies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms and biological significance of Giardia lamblia surface antigenic variation.

Main Methods:

  • Exposure of Giardia clones to cytotoxic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).
  • Detection of variant trophozoites using direct and indirect immunofluorescence with mAbs.
  • Analysis of antigen composition via [35S]cysteine uptake.
  • Investigation of genomic rearrangements using Southern blots.

Main Results:

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  • Surviving Giardia progeny lost initial surface antigens and gained new ones.
  • Antigenic changes occurred rapidly (1:100-1:1000) and were isolate-dependent.
  • Cysteine-rich composition identified in variant surface antigens.
  • Southern blots suggested frequent genomic rearrangements, but expression-linked copies were not detected.
  • Antigenic variation observed in vivo in gerbils and humans.

Conclusions:

  • Giardia lamblia undergoes rapid surface antigenic variation, likely mediated by genomic rearrangements.
  • The biological role of this variation in chronic or repeated infections remains to be elucidated.