Lecture 5: Parasite glycobiology Flashcards
True or false: trypanosomatids all have a kinetoplast?
True
Which trypanosoma species is Leishmania clade closely related to?
Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei
What disease is caused by T. brucei?
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) or Sleeping sickness
What is the vector for the following parasites:
1) T. brucei
2) T. cruzi
3) Leishmania sp.
1) Tsetse fly
2) Triatomine bug
3) Sandfly
Which form of the parasite is taken up by the Tsetse fly and which form of the parasite is injected by the Tsetse fly into the human?
Taken up: stumpy form that rapidly differentiates to procyclic form
Injects: metacyclic form
True or false: T. brucei is strictly extracellular?
True
True or false: Leishmania sp. is strictly extracellular?
False, they are intracellular (phagocytosed by macrophages and proliferate within parasitophorous vacuole as amastigotes)
How does the triatomine bug transmit the T.cruzi parasite to the human host?
Bites around eyes and mouth (soft tissue parts), defecates parasite close to wound site, which is irritated and the parasite is rubbed into the wound
True or false: T. cruzi is strictly extracellular?
False: it is intracellular - cross epithelial barrier so can enter tissues (mainly smooth muscles particularly of the heart, skeleton and oesophagus)
What is the name of the disease caused by T. cruzi?
Chagas disease
what does the surface coat of the T. brucei parasite contain in the human host?
mainly VSGs
what does the surface coat of the Leishmania parasite contain in the human host?
LPG
Surface proteases (PSP)
GIPLs
what does the surface coat of the T. cruzi parasite contain in the human host?
Mucins
Trans- sialidases
GIPLs
What are the T. brucei glycoconjugates and what is the structure of each?
VSG = homodimer, each monomer is N-glycoslyated and GPI anchored to the plasma membrane
Transferrin receptor = heterodimer, both monomers are N-glycosylated but only one monomer is GPI anchored to the plasma membrane
True or false: the T. brucei transferrin receptor (TfR) is structurally related to VSG?
True, expressed form the same expression site (ES) by RNA pol1
What is the role of the T. brucei TfR?
heterodimer that recognises and internalises host transferrin