Trichomonas vaginalis causes one of the most common nonviral sexually transmitted diseases in humans by infecting the urogenital tract. It is covered by a dense glycocalyx, the major component of which is lipophosphoglycan (LPG). The LPG glycan core is known to be distinctly different from those of other parasites (1). LPG mutants have been recently shown to have reduced adherence and cytotoxicity to certain human epithelial cells (2). Structural characterization of the outer glycans from LPG should help to better understand the interactions with the host cell.
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