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The Elusive Trypanosoma cruzi Disperse Gene Protein Family (DGF-1)
Version 1
: Received: 31 January 2023 / Approved: 3 February 2023 / Online: 3 February 2023 (03:11:08 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Ramírez, J.L. The Elusive Trypanosoma cruzi Disperse Gene Protein Family (DGF-1). Pathogens 2023, 12, 292. Ramírez, J.L. The Elusive Trypanosoma cruzi Disperse Gene Protein Family (DGF-1). Pathogens 2023, 12, 292.
Abstract
Abstract Chaga´s disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infections is included in the group of neglected diseases, and efforts to develop new therapeutic or immunoprevention approaches have not been successful. After the publication of the T. cruzi genome, the number of molecular and biochemical studies on this parasite have increased considerably, many of which are focused on families of variant-surface-proteins, especially the trans-sialidases, mucins and mucin-associated proteins. The disperse gene protein 1 family (DGF-1) is one of the most abundant families in the T. cruzi genome, however, the large gene size, high copy numbers, and low antibody titers detected in infected humans make it an unattractive study target. Here, we argue that the DGF-1 gene family although not being the most obvious participant of the host-parasite immunological gamble, where T. cruzi appears to have the upper hand, it may play an important role in more basic host-parasite interactions that deserve further examination.
Keywords
Chagas Disease; surface proteins; disperse protein family; Trypanosoma cruzi
Subject
LIFE SCIENCES, Microbiology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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