Antibodies to variable surface antigens induce antigenic variation in the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia.

The genomes of most protozoa encode families of variant surface antigens. In some parasitic microorganisms, it has been demonstrated that mutually exclusive changes in the expression of these antigens allow parasites to evade the host's immune response. It is widely assumed that antigenic variation in protozoan parasites is accomplished by the spontaneous appearance within the population of cells expressing antigenic variants that escape antibody-mediated cytotoxicity.

Comprehensive characterization of Cysteine-rich protein-coding genes of Giardia lamblia and their role during antigenic variation.

Giardia lamblia encodes several families of cysteine-rich proteins, including the Variant-specific Surface Proteins (VSPs) involved in the process of antigenic variation. Their characteristics, definition and relationships are still controversial. An exhaustive analysis of the Cys-rich families including organization, features, evolution and levels of expression was performed, by combining pattern searches and predictions with massive sequencing techniques.

Gangliosides in Cancer Cell Signaling.

At the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, gangliosides are found with other glycosphingolipids, phospholipids, and cholesterol in glycolipid-enriched microdomains, in which they interact with signaling molecules including receptor tyrosine kinases and signal transducers. The role of gangliosides in the regulation of signal transduction has been reported for many cases and in different cell types. The biosynthesis of gangliosides involves specific enzymes, mainly glycosyltransferases that control together with glycohydrolases, the steady state of gangliosides at the cell surface.

Human Sialidase Neu3 is S-Acylated and Behaves Like an Integral Membrane Protein.

Membrane-bound sialidase Neu3 is involved in the catabolism of glycoconjugates, and plays crucial roles in numerous biological processes. Since the mechanism of its association with membranes is still not completely understood, the aim of this work was to provide further information regarding this aspect. Human Neu3 was found to be associated with the plasma membrane and endomembranes, and it was not released from the lipid bilayer under conditions that typically release peripheral membrane proteins.

Role of plasma-membrane-bound sialidase NEU3 in clathrin-mediated endocytosis.

Gangliosides are sialic acid-containing glycosphingolipids mainly expressed at the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. Sialidase NEU3 is a key enzyme in the catabolism of gangliosides with its up-regulation having been observed in human cancer cells. In the case of CME (clathrin-mediated endocytosis), although this has been widely studied, the role of NEU3 and gangliosides in this cellular process has not yet been established.