| Publication number |
CLPUB00682 |
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| Authors |
Shiels B.R., Smyth A., Dickson J., McKellar S., Tetley L., Fujisaki K., Hutchinson B., Kinnaird J.H. |
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| Title |
A stoichiometric model of stage differentiation in the protozoan parasite Theileria annulata. |
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| Citation |
Mol. Cell. Differ. 2:101-125(1994) |
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| Abstract |
Stage differentiation of protozoan parasites, such as higher eukaryotic
cells, frequently occurs in response to altered environmental conditions
that produce a reduction in the proliferative potential of the cell. This
is followed by a step where commitment to the differentiation program is
established and changes to the pattern of gene expression occur. To
understand the events that immediately precede and follow the commitment
step, we initiated this study to investigate the molecular changes that
occur during the differentiation of Theileria annulata, a protozoan
parasite of cattle. Using an established in vitro system, where the
macroschizont stage of the parasite differentiates to the merozoite stage,
a time course of differentiation was followed at the polypeptide and mRNA
level. The results of the study showed that during the initial stages of
the differentiation process, there is a low-level expression of genes that
is fully expressed following commitment. This low-level expression was
shown to be reversible before the commitment step, but following this
event, expression became irreversible. The study also showed that the
amplitude of reversible gene expres-sion is directly related to the
ability of different infected cell lines to differentiate. From these
results, a quantitative (stoichiometric) model of stage differentiation
has been postulated. Such a model would explain the asynchrony of
protozoan stage differentiation and the quantitative loss in the ability
of particular parasite clones and lines to differentiate. We believe that
this model is also applicable to higher eukaryotic cells and can account
for the similarities between observations made for higher eukaryotic and
protozoan differentiation systems.
|
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| Cell lines |
CVCL_B6P4; TaA2 clone D7 CVCL_B6P5; TaA2 clone D7B12 |
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