ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2016
VEX1 controls the allelic exclusion required for antigenic variation in trypanosomes.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed.
- Zinc-dependent turnover of ZIP3 transporter mRNA by trypanosome ZNK1.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- De Novo Assembly of the Trypanosoma congolense Genome Reveals an Organization Influenced by Antigenic Variation but Distinct from Trypanosoma brucei.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- Specialized RNA decay fine-tunes monogenic antigen expression in Trypanosoma brucei.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- A factor integrating transcription and repression of surface antigen genes in African trypanosomes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Chromosome compartment assembly is essential for subtelomeric gene silencing in trypanosomes.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A non-coding role for trypanosome VSG transcripts in allelic exclusion.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- TelAP2 links TelAP1 to the telomere complex in Trypanosoma brucei.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Unwrap RAP1's Mystery at Kinetoplastid Telomeres.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- An allele-selective inter-chromosomal protein bridge supports monogenic antigen expression in the African trypanosome.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Article
- Immunoprecipitation of RNA-DNA hybrid interacting proteins in Trypanosoma brucei reveals conserved and novel activities, including in the control of surface antigen expression needed for immune evasion by antigenic variation.Nucleic acids research · 2023Article
- Decoding the impact of nuclear organization on antigenic variation in parasites.Nature microbiology · 2023Review
- Competition among variants is predictable and contributes to the antigenic variation dynamics of African trypanosomes.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- The RRM-mediated RNA binding activity in T. brucei RAP1 is essential for VSG monoallelic expression.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Stage-specific transcription activator ESB1 regulates monoallelic antigen expression in Trypanosoma brucei.Nature microbiology · 2022Article
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- POLIE suppresses telomerase-mediated telomere G-strand extension and helps ensure proper telomere C-strand synthesis in trypanosomes.Nucleic acids research · 2022Article
- Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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4 authors.
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Abstract
Allelic exclusion underpins antigenic variation and immune evasion in African trypanosomes. These bloodstream parasites use RNA polymerase-I (pol-I) to transcribe just one telomeric variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) gene at a time, producing superabundant and switchable VSG coats. We identified trypanosome VSG exclusion-1 (VEX1) using a genetic screen for defects in telomere-exclusive expression. VEX1 was sequestered by the active VSG and silencing of other VSGs failed when VEX1 was either ectopically expressed or depleted, indicating positive and negative regulation, respectively. Positive regulation affected VSGs and nontelomeric pol-I-transcribed genes, whereas negative regulation primarily affected VSGs. Negative regulation by VEX1 also affected telomeric pol-I-transcribed reporter constructs, but only when they contained blocks of sequence sharing homology with a pol-I-transcribed locus. We conclude that restricted positive regulation due to VEX1 sequestration, combined with VEX1-dependent, possibly homology-dependent silencing, drives a "winner-takes-all" mechanism of allelic exclusion.
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