Journal
MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL PARASITOLOGY
Volume 114, Issue 2, Pages 143-150Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/S0166-6851(01)00245-6
Keywords
Trypanosoma cruzi; mucins; sialic acid; trans-sialidase; GPI; glycosylation
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Funding
- NIAID NIH HHS [AI21334] Funding Source: Medline
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Trypanosoma cruzi expresses at its surface large amounts of mucin-like glycoproteins. The T. cruzi mucins (TcMUC), a group of highly glycosylated GPI-anchored proteins rich in Thr, Ser, and Pro residues, are expressed in high copy numbers in both insect and mammalian stages of the parasite. These molecules are encoded by a multigene family and contain a unique type of glycosylation consisting of several sialylated O-glycans linked to the protein backbone via Nw-acetylglucosamine residues. The TcMUC are important because of their role in host cell invasion and the ability to induce secretion of proinflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide in activated macrophages. The TcMUC are also significant in being the major substrate For the cell surface trans-sialidase. In this review, we summarize the recent knowledge on the molecular structure and function of this family of T. cruzi glycoproteins. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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