A transferrin-binding protein of Trypanosoma brucei is encoded by one of the genes in the variant surface glycoprotein gene expression site. |
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Authors: | D Schell R Evers D Preis K Ziegelbauer H Kiefer F Lottspeich A W Cornelissen and P Overath |
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Institution: | Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie, Tübingen, FRG. |
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Abstract: | A transferrin-binding protein (TFBP) with an apparent molecular weight of 42 kd was purified from detergent-soluble membrane proteins of bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei. The protein is not expressed in the insect-borne stage of the parasite's life-cycle. Purified TFBP can be converted from an amphiphilic to a hydrophilic form by cleavage with T.brucei glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-specific phospholipase C, demonstrating that the C-terminus is modified by a GPI-membrane anchor. The TFBP is encoded by an expression-site-associated gene ESAG 6 in the nomenclature of Pays et al. (1989) Cell, 57, 835-845] which is under the control of the promoter transcribing the expressed variant surface glycoprotein gene. The possible function of TFBP as a receptor for the uptake of transferrin in bloodstream forms is discussed. |
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