ArticleNature microbiology2026
Specialized RNA decay fine-tunes monogenic antigen expression in Trypanosoma brucei.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Zinc-dependent turnover of ZIP3 transporter mRNA by trypanosome ZNK1.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Regulation of Leishmania surface coat proteins by the nuclear protein ESB1.Journal of cell science · 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
- CRISPR-Cas9 precision editing of kinetochore protein phosphosite codons inFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Antigenic variation is an immune evasion strategy used by pathogens, including Trypanosoma brucei. This parasite expresses a single variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) from a large genetic repertoire, which it periodically switches throughout an infection. VSGs are co-transcribed with expression-site-associated genes (ESAGs) within a specialized nuclear body, but there is substantial differential expression and the regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. Here we applied TurboID-mediated proximity labelling mass spectrometry to map the subnuclear expression-site body (ESB) post-transcriptional network. We identify and characterize three previously undescribed components: ESB-associated protein 1 (ESAP1) and ESB-specific proteins 2 and 3 (ESB2 and 3). These proteins form discreet subnuclear condensates that are developmentally regulated. ESB2 is an active RNA endonuclease that negatively regulates ESAG transcripts. Its recruitment depends on a hierarchy involving VEX2, ESAP1 and ESB3, a constant flux of active transcription and RNA processing, and its own nuclease activity. Overall, we uncover a molecular mechanism that fine-tunes expression of virulence genes through specialized RNA decay in T. brucei.
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Registered trials
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