Naslov
Structural basis for the shielding function of the dynamic trypanosome variant surface glycoprotein coat

Autori
Bartossek, Thomas ; Jones Nicola G. ; Schäfer Christin ; Cvitković, Mislav ; Glogger Marius ; Mott Helen R., Kuper Jochen ; Brennich Martha ; Carrington Martha ; Smith, Ana Sunčana ; Fenz, Susanne ; Kisker Caroline ; Engstler, Markus.

Izvornik
Nature Microbiology (2058-5276) 2 (2017), 11; 1523-1532

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
small-angle scattering ; gpi-anchored proteins ; n-terminal domain ; biological macromolecules ; linked oligosaccharides ; resolution structure ; membrane anchor ; brucei-brucei ; cell-surface ; system

Sažetak
The most prominent defence of the unicellular parasite Trypanosoma brucei against the host immune system is a dense coat that comprises a variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). Despite the importance of the VSG family, no complete structure of a VSG has been reported. Making use of high-resolution structures of individual VSG domains, we employed small-angle X-ray scattering to elucidate the first two complete VSG structures. The resulting models imply that the linker regions confer great flexibility between domains, which suggests that VSGs can adopt two main conformations to respond to obstacles and changes of protein density, while maintaining a protective barrier at all times. Single-molecule diffusion measurements of VSG in supported lipid bilayers substantiate this possibility, as two freely diffusing populations could be detected. This translates into a highly flexible overall topology of the surface VSG coat, which displays both lateral movement in the plane of the membrane and variation in the overall thickness of the coat.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija, Interdisciplinarne prirodne znanosti, Biotehnologija u biomedicini (prirodno područje, biomedicina i zdravstvo, biotehničko područje)

Napomena
Funding Agency Grant Number Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) EN 305 GRK 1114 SFB 630 Wellcome Trust 022758/Z/03/Z European Research Council ERC StG 2013-337283 DFG GRK 1962

POVEZANOST RADA