Scientists At The Center For Infectious Disease Research Discover How Lethal Parasites Control Their Escape From The Immune System

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scientists at the Center for Infectious Disease Research have discovered how parasites that cause the lethal disease Human African Trypanosomiasis and other related diseases in animals control the process that allows them to evade elimination by the immune system through a process called “antigenic variation.”

“This is an exciting discovery because it puts us one step closer to discovering a treatment for this deadly disease”

Igor Cestari, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Stuart Lab at the Center for Infectious Disease Research, discovered how the parasites control the intermittent change in their surface composition through antigenic variation, which prevents them from being eliminated by immune system antibodies. Dr. Cestari identified the enzymes and metabolites which affect the proteins controlling the antigenic variation.

“This is an exciting discovery because it puts us one step closer to discovering a treatment for this deadly disease,” said Ken Stuart, PhD, founder of the Center for Infectious Disease Research. “The proteins that control the antigenic variation are now targets for the development of drugs which could treat this disease that kills up to 10,000 people each year.”

The surface of each parasite is covered by a layer composed of approximately 10 million sugar/protein molecules called variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs). During an infection, the immune system makes antibodies that are lethal to a specific VSG coat. To evade the antibodies, some parasites will change their VSG coat which allows them to survive. As the parasites continue to change their VSG coat, it results in waves of parasite proliferation and incomplete parasitic elimination.

“The parasites are able to change their coat innumerable times because they have about 2,000 different genes they can exchange,” said Dr. Cestari. “The antigenic variation makes Human African Trypanosomiasis vaccine development virtually impossible; however, these findings will aid in the development of drugs to treat the disease as well as other parasitic diseases which undergo antigenic variation.”

The identification of the enzymes and metabolites affecting antigenic variation has broad implications as it provides the ability to study them in a disease agent that can be manipulated genetically and will lead to better understanding of the processes they control.

About the Center for Infectious Disease Research

Center for Infectious Disease Research is the largest independent, non-profit organization in the U.S. focused solely on infectious disease research. Our mission is to make transformative scientific advancements that lead to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. We advance the science to develop vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics for infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria that claim the lives of millions of people every year. With your support in advancing our research we seek to build a healthier, more hopeful world. For more information, visit www.CIDResearch.org.