U.S.-Venezuela Cooperative Science: Anaplasma Marginale Proteins and Attachment to Bovine Red Cell Ligands

该奖项将支持罗杰·莱恩教授和委内瑞拉加拉加斯西蒙·玻利瓦尔大学的玛尔塔·伊森-卡尔丹蒂教授之间的合作研究。这项研究的目的是研究边缘无浆体的细胞表面蛋白，这是一种与牛红细胞结合的微生物，其最终结果类似于疟疾原虫入侵红细胞。研究人员计划研究这些微生物细胞表面与牛红细胞相互作用的分子实体，以形成识别和结合对。初步证据表明，这种结合对由血细胞中的复杂碳水化合物和无浆体上的结合蛋白组成。这项工作将有助于进一步阐明这些结合相互作用背后的机制。委内瑞拉方面将提供正在研究的生物系统方面的专业知识，而美方将带来他们在化学结构分析方面的经验。由于边缘无浆体与牛红细胞的关系类似于疟疾与人类红细胞的关系，使用牛红细胞进行表面化学研究所使用的技术和获得的知识应该会对这两个领域的研究有利。

This award will support collaborative research between Prof. Roger Laine and Prof. Marta Ysern-Caldenty of the Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas, Venezuela. The objective of the research is to study the cell surface proteins of Anaplasma marginale, a micro-organism that binds to bovine red cells with an end result similar to the invasion of red cells by malarial protozoans. The investigators plan to study the molecular entities that interact at the cell surfaces of these micro-organisms with bovine erythrocytes, to form a recognition and binding pair. Preliminary evidence indicates that this binding pair consists of a complex carbohydrate in the blood cell and a binding protein on the Anaplasma. This work will serve to further elucidate the mechanisms behind these binding interactions. The Venezuelan side will contribute expertise in the biological system under study while the U.S. side brings to bear their experience with chemical structural analysis. Because Anaplasma marginale has a similar relation to bovine red blood cells as malaria does to human red cells, the techniques used and knowledge gained in surface chemistry studies using bovine red blood cells should prove beneficial to research in both areas.