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Updated: Jul 15, 2025

Purification of Extracellular Trypanosomes, Including African, from Blood by Anion-Exchangers Diethylaminoethyl-cellulose Columns
Published on: April 6, 2019
Trypanosomes and complement: more than one way to die?
Alexander D Cook1, Mark Carrington2, Matthew K Higgins1
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK; Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3QU.
Abstract:
African trypanosomes show a remarkable ability to survive as extracellular parasites in the blood and tissue spaces of an infected mammal. Throughout the infection they are exposed to the molecules and cells of the immune system, including complement. In this opinion piece, we review decades-worth of evidence about how complement affects African trypanosomes. We highlight the discovery of a trypanosome receptor for complement C3 and we critically assess three recent studies which attempt to provide a structural and mechanistic view of how this receptor helps trypanosomes to survive in the presence of complement.
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