Detection of Trypanosoma brucei Variant Surface Glycoprotein Switching by Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting and Flow CytometryDanae Schulz 1,2, Monica R. Mugnier 1, Catherine E. Boothroyd 1,3, F. Nina Papavasiliou 1
1Laboratory of Lymphocyte Biology, Rockefeller University, 2Department of Biology, Harvey Mudd College, 3Masters School
African trypanosomes grown in vitro undergo antigenic variation at a low rate, such that populations are made up of parasites expressing a dominant variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) type and a small population of "switched" variants. This protocol describes a fast method for detecting and quantifying these populations.
