Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Quantification of Intracellular Growth Inside Macrophages is a Fast and Reliable Method for Assessing the Virulence of Leishmania Parasites
Published on: March 16, 2018
A specialized pathway affecting virulence glycoconjugates of Leishmania
A Descoteaux1, Y Luo, S J Turco
1Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
For virulence and transmission, the protozoan parasite Leishmania must assemble a complex glycolipid on the cell surface, the lipophosphoglycan (LPG). Functional complementation identified the gene LPG2, which encodes an integral Golgi membrane protein implicated in intracellular compartmentalization of LPG biosynthesis. Ipg2- mutants lack only characteristic disaccharide-phosphate repeats, normally present on both LPG and other surface or secreted molecules considered critical for infectivity. In contrast, a related yeast gene, VAN2/VRG4, is essential and required for general Golgi function. These results suggest that LPG2 participates in a specialized virulence pathway, which may offer an attractive target for chemotherapy.
Related Concept Videos
Delivery Pathways to the Lysosome
Endocytosis
In endocytosis, the cell membrane takes up macromolecules and particles from the surrounding medium. Clathrin-mediated...
Antigen Processing Pathways
MHC Class I: Presenting Endogenous...
Determinants of Bacterial Pathogenicity and Virulence
Regulation of Bacterial Virulence
Leishmaniasis
Antiprotozoal Agents

