Function and assembly of the Leishmania surface coat

Like many trypanosomatids, the cell surface coat of Leishmania spp. is resp onsible for mediating various host-parasite interactions as well as acting as a dense physical barrier. This confers protection to the parasites irt t he hostile environments of the sandfly midgut and the macrophage phagolysos ome. The major components of the surface coat are tethered to the cell surf ace via glycosylphosphatidylinositol glycolipids, and the composition of th is surface coat is exquisitely regulated during the course of the parasite life-cycle. In this paper, we review what is known about the composition, b iosynthesis and function of these glycosylphosphatidylinositol-containing m olecules found within the parasite surface coat. (C) 2001 Australian Societ y for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights: rese rved.