African trypanosomes cause disease in humans and animals. Trypanosoma
brucei brucei affects cattle but not humans because of its sensitivity
to a subclass of human high density lipoproteins (HDLs) called trypan
osome lytic factor (TLF). TLF contains two apolipoproteins that are su
fficient to cause lysis of T. b. brucei in vitro. These proteins were
identified as the human haptoglobin-related protein and paraoxonase-ar
ylesterase. An antibody to haptoglobin inhibited TLF activity. TLF was
shown to exhibit peroxidase activity and to be inhibited by catalase.
These results suggest that TLF kills trypanosomes by oxidative damage
initiated by its peroxidase activity.