🧬 A parasite shreds its own genetic instructions to remain invisible

To evade our body's defenses, the parasite responsible for sleeping sickness uses a particular method. It modifies its own genetic instructions at the very moment they are produced, as if deliberately erasing certain parts of the assembly manual. This trick allows the microorganism to remain invisible in the bloodstream, where it can thrive and cause significant damage.

Researchers have identified a protein called ESB2 that acts inside the parasite's protein factory. This protein cuts with great precision the genetic messages related to accessory genes, while leaving intact those that code for the main camouflage. The parasite thus produces large quantities of the proteins for its protective cloak, while limiting the production of other components.


This work provides an answer to a question that had persisted for several decades in the field of parasite biology. Scientists were puzzled by the asymmetry observed in the production of the different proteins necessary for the parasite's survival. Thanks to this study, they now understand that the imbalance is intentional and managed by ESB2.

The Trypanosoma brucei parasite is transmitted by the tsetse fly and causes sleeping sickness in sub-Saharan Africa. Without treatment, it invades the central nervous system, leading to sleep disturbances, confusion, and can result in coma. Precisely understanding how it manipulates its gene expression opens avenues for designing new therapeutic approaches. Targeting this molecular cutting process could weaken the parasite's ability to hide itself.

This advance is significant for infectious disease research. It shows that the survival of certain organisms can rely on mechanisms of targeted destruction of their own instructions.

This work is the result of an international collaboration bringing together teams from the UK, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore and Brazil. The laboratory at the University of York, led by the principal investigator, played a central role.