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Antigenic variation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antigenic variation is the process by which an infectious organism alters its surface proteins in order to evade a host immune response. This change in antigenic profile may occur as the pathogen passes through a host population (also called "antigenic diversity") or may take place in the originally infected host. The strategy is particularly important for organisms that a.) target long-lived hosts, b.) repeatedly infect a single host, and c.) are easily transmitted. Pathogens that express these characteristics and undergo antigenic variation have a selective advantage over their more genetically stable counterparts.
Antigenic variation can occur through three broadly defined genetic processes: gene mutation, recombination, and switching. In all cases, antigenic variation results in pathogens that are immunologically distinct from the parental strains.
Reference: 1) Barbour AG, Dai Q, Restrepo BI, Stoenner HG, Frank SA., Pathogen escape from host immunity by a genome program for antigenic variation, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Nov 13;
2) Barbour AG, Restrepo BI., Antigenic variation in vector-borne pathogens.Emerg Infect Dis. 2000 Sep-Oct;6(5):449-57. Review.
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