Procyclin: an immunodominant trypanosome surface antigen with potential for use as a transmission blocking vaccine.

摘要: An immunodominant surface glycoprotein was purified from procyclic trypanosomes of Trypanosoma rhodesiense ViTat1.1 using monoclonal antibody affinity chromatography. Microamino acid analysis and gas-phase microsequencing revealed an unusual acidic polypeptide which contained a large glutamic acid-proline repeat. By gene cloning and expression in Escherichia coli, procyclin was produced in a form which, when injected into rabbits, could induce antibodies that bound to epitopes from several parts of the molecule, including the glutamic acid-proline repeat, and to the surface of living procyclic trypanosomes. The procyclin molecule is a candidate for development of a transmission-blocking vaccine.