Structural diversity and evolution of variant-specific surface proteins in the protozoan parasite, Giardia

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/104943

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

Giardia are well-known as a cause of travellers' diarrhoea, but our knowledge about these parasites remains rudimentary. Infections are common in Australia, especially in day-care centres and outback Aboriginal communities. The 1998 Sydney water crisis highlighted the necessity of monitoring reservoirs and reticulated water for contamination by faecal cysts of both human and animal origin. The aim of this project is to learn more about the 'coat' proteins which cover the organisms. These protect the parasites against digestion, enabling them to reside indefinitely within the intestine. However, the proteins are also the principal target of host immunity. Analysis of Giardia populations has shown that as many as 150-200 different coat proteins can be made. Although individual cells have coats comprised of only a single protein type, these can 'switch' spontaneously to production of another type - a phenomenon known as 'antigenic variation'. This process occurs slowly but continuously, giving rise to 'variants' which survive successive host responses (directed against each predominant coat type) and occupy the vacancies left by the destruction of their immediate forebears. It is important to gain information about the structural diversity of these variant-specific proteins (VSP), as any 'Giardia' vaccine is likely to require inclusion of each major type. It is also important to elucidate how the 'switching' process occurs, as this may provide clues as to how it might be interrupted. The project addresses both aspects.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2000

End Date: 01-01-2002

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $436,417.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Humoural immunology and immunochemistry

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

Antigenic variation | Diarrhorea | Giardiasis | Immunochemistry | Intestinal parasite | Malnutrition | Molecular biology | Parasitic protozoa | Surface proteins

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