Abstract
Antigenic variation observed during the course of infections with Trypanosoma brucei in mammals is caused by amino acid sequence changes in a variable surface glycoprotein (VSG)1–3. Antisera to isolated VSGs generally react only with the surface of homologous trypanosomes in neutralization and immunofluorescence tests1,4, except in the case of certain ‘isotypic’ populations derived from different field isolates of trypanosomes5. An important question in evaluating the possibility of a vaccine is whether a single trypanosome can change into a second population which shares some, but not all, surface exposed epitopes during the limited time span of several sequential infections. If any trypanosomes in a mixture share exposed epitopes, the complexity of the necessary immunogen is reduced. We show here that two trypanosome clones WaTat 1.1 and WaTat 1.12, derived by differentiation from a single organism, have partially homologous VSGs and indeed share some similar exposed epitopes. Hence, a monospecific anti-VSG antiserum neutralizes both trypanosomes. However, several surface-exposed epitopes in WaTat 1.12 VSG exhibit reduced binding affinity for monoclonal antibodies made against WaTat 1.1 VSG and one epitope present on WaTat 1.1 trypanosomes is missing from the surface of WaTat 1.12 organisms.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cross, G. A. M. Parasitology 71, 393–417 (1975).
Bridgen, P. J., Cross, G. A. M. & Bridgen, J. Nature 263, 613–614 (1976).
Rice-Ficht, A. C., Chen, K. K. & Donelson, J. E. Nature 294, 53–57 (1981).
Barbet, A. F. & McGuire, T. C. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75, 1989–1993 (1978).
Vervoort, T. et al. Immunology 44, 223–232 (1981).
Hoeijmakers, J. H. J. et al. Nature 284, 78–80 (1980).
Pays, E., Van Meirvenne, N., LeRay, D. & Steinert, M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 2673–2677 (1981).
Michels, P. A. M., Bernards, A., Van der Ploeg, L. H. T. & Borst, P. Nucleic Acids Res. 10, 2353–2366 (1982).
Frasch, A. C. C., Borst, P. & Van den Burg, J. Gene 17, 197–211 (1982).
Rice-Ficht, A. C., Chen, K. K. & Donelson, J. E. Nature 298, 676–679 (1982).
Barbet, A. F., Musoke, A. J., Shapiro, S. Z., Mpimbaza, G. & McGuire, T. C. Parasitology 83, 623–637 (1981).
Holder, A. A. & Cross, G. A. M. Molec. Biochem. Parasit. 2, 135–150 (1981).
Wright, K. A. & Hales, H. J. Parasitology 56, 671–683 (1970).
Cross, G. A. M. Nature 277, 310–312 (1979).
Johnson, J. G. & Cross, G. A. M. Biochem. J. 178, 689–697 (1979).
Seed, T. M., Seed, J. R. & Brindley, I. Tropenmedizin und Parasitenkunde 27, 202–212 (1976).
Steiger, R. F. Acta trop. 32, 152–158 (1975).
Nantulya, V. M., Musoke, A. J., Barbet, A. F. & Roelants, G. E. J. Parasit. 65, 673–679 (1979).
Whittaker, R. G. & Moss, B. A. Analyt. Biochem. 110, 56–60 (1981).
Davis, W. C. et al. Proc. 7th natn. Anaplasmosis Conf., 1981 (in the press).
Shulman, M., Wilde, C. O. & Köhler, G. Nature 276, 269–270 (1978).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barbet, A., Davis, W. & McGuire, T. Cross-neutralization of two different trypanosome populations derived from a single organism. Nature 300, 453–456 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/300453a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/300453a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
