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Mechanisms for the elimination of potentially lytic complement-fixing variable surface glycoprotein
D C Russo1, D J Williams, D J Grab
1L. F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, NY 10021.
Parasitology Research
|January 1, 1994
Abstract:
Live antibody-coated Trypanosoma brucei parasites remove variable surface glycoprotein (VSG)-antibody complexes from their surface upon warming to 37 degrees C and evade antibody-activated complement lysis by both protein synthesis-dependent and protein synthesis-independent mechanisms. The protein synthesis-dependent process follows antibody-mediated trypanosome agglutination, whereas the protein synthesis-independent mechanism can occur in the absence of trypanosome agglutination. The latter process leads to a more rapid elimination of complement-fixing VSG-antibody complexes.