THE SURFACE OF TOXOPLASMA - MORE AND LESS

As for any intracellular parasite, the surface of the Apicomplexan par asite Toxoplasma gandii must fulfil many functions including a role in attachment, signalling, invasion, transport and interaction with the immune response of the host. In this review, we describe the current s tate of knowledge on the molecules that are found on the surface of th e different developmental stages of this parasite and speculate as to how at least some of these multiple functions are fulfilled. Special e mphasis is given to the growing family of surface antigens that are re lated to the tachyzoite-specific surface antigen 1. We conclude that t he surface (of tachyzoites, at least) is both more and less complex th an previously thought: there are more proteins present but their seque nces suggest that the majority may share a similar overall structure t ypified by surface antigen 1. (C) 1998 Australian Society for Parasito logy. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.