ISSN 2756-3391
African Journal of Parasitology Research ISSN 2756-3391 Vol. 11 (4), pp. 001-009, April, 2l023. © International Scholars Journals
Review
Similarities and variances in the antigenic diversity of pathogenic microorganisms
Dietmar Steverding
BioMedical Research Centre, School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 13 December, 2022
Abstract
Antigenic variation is a process by which pathogenic micro-organisms escape the immune response of their mammalian hosts. By convergent evolution, protozoal, fungal and bacterial pathogens have developed similar genetic mechanisms for true antigenic variation. In this review article, the biology, the surface antigens and their encoding genes, and the molecular mechanisms of antigenic variation of the protozoa Trypanosoma brucei, Plasmodium falciparum, Babesia bovis, Giardia lamblia, the fungus Pneumocystis carinii, and the bacteria Borrelia hermsii, Anaplasma marginale, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycoplasma bovis and Campylobacter fetus are compared.
Key words: Antigenic variation, pathogens, micro-organisms, molecular mechanisms, immune evasion.