Structural highlights
Function
[VSI4_TRYBB] VSG forms a coat on the surface of the parasite. The trypanosome evades the immune response of the host by expressing a series of antigenically distinct VSGs from an estimated 1000 VSG genes.
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
The variable domain of the trypanosome variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) ILTat 1.24 has been shown by X-ray crystallography to resemble closely the structures of VSG MITat 1.2, despite their low sequence similarity. Specific structural features of these VSGs, including substitution of carbohydrate for an alpha-helix, can be found in other VSG sequences. Thus antigenic variation in trypanosomes is accomplished by sequence variation, not gross structural alteration; the extensive sequence differences among VSGs may be required for another reason, such as the avoidance of recognition by helper T cells. Additionally, VSG sequences are found to define families, within a VSG superfamily, which have evolved in the trypanosome genome.
A structural motif in the variant surface glycoproteins of Trypanosoma brucei.,Blum ML, Down JA, Gurnett AM, Carrington M, Turner MJ, Wiley DC Nature. 1993 Apr 15;362(6421):603-9. PMID:8464512[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Blum ML, Down JA, Gurnett AM, Carrington M, Turner MJ, Wiley DC. A structural motif in the variant surface glycoproteins of Trypanosoma brucei. Nature. 1993 Apr 15;362(6421):603-9. PMID:8464512 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/362603a0
