ISSN 2756-3413
African Journal of Virology Research ISSN 3421-7347 Vol. 1 (7), pp. 103-111, July, 2007. © International Scholars Journals
Review
Comparison of antigenic variation in pathogenic microorganisms
*Morris Gerard and Steve Crawley
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 22 April, 2007
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.