A Major Step towards Defining the Elusive Stumpy Inducing Factor in Trypanosoma brucei

Lauriane Sollelis; Matthias Marti

doi:10.1016/j.pt.2018.11.009

A Major Step towards Defining the Elusive Stumpy Inducing Factor in Trypanosoma brucei

Trends Parasitol. 2019 Jan;35(1):6-8. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2018.11.009. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Authors

Lauriane Sollelis¹, Matthias Marti²

Affiliations

¹ Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
² Wellcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: Matthias.Marti@glasgow.ac.uk.

PMID: 30554967
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2018.11.009

Abstract

Trypanosoma brucei stumpy forms are the only stage that can transmit from human to tsetse fly. Stumpy formation is regulated by a quorum sensing mechanism that depends on parasite density and an unknown stumpy induction factor (SIF). Recently, an elegant study by Matthews and colleagues (Cell 176, 1-12) has identified several crucial components of this pathway, including the putative SIF and its receptor.

Keywords: Trypanosoma brucei; differentiation; sleeping sickness; slender form; stumpy form; stumpy inducing factor.

Publication types

Comment

MeSH terms

Animals
Humans
Oligopeptides
Quorum Sensing
Trypanosoma
Trypanosoma brucei brucei*
Trypanosomiasis, African*

Substances

Oligopeptides

Grants and funding

110166/Z/15/Z/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom