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. 1991 May;10(5):1061–1066. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1991.tb08045.x

A transferrin-binding protein of Trypanosoma brucei is encoded by one of the genes in the variant surface glycoprotein gene expression site.

D Schell 1, R Evers 1, D Preis 1, K Ziegelbauer 1, H Kiefer 1, F Lottspeich 1, A W Cornelissen 1, P Overath 1
PMCID: PMC452758  PMID: 1845367

Abstract

A transferrin-binding protein (TFBP) with an apparent molecular weight of 42 kd was purified from detergent-soluble membrane proteins of bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei. The protein is not expressed in the insect-borne stage of the parasite's life-cycle. Purified TFBP can be converted from an amphiphilic to a hydrophilic form by cleavage with T.brucei glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-specific phospholipase C, demonstrating that the C-terminus is modified by a GPI-membrane anchor. The TFBP is encoded by an expression-site-associated gene [ESAG 6 in the nomenclature of Pays et al. (1989) Cell, 57, 835-845] which is under the control of the promoter transcribing the expressed variant surface glycoprotein gene. The possible function of TFBP as a receptor for the uptake of transferrin in bloodstream forms is discussed.

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