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Type specific antigen There are several antigenic variants in Rickettsia tsutsugamushi, and a type-specific antigen (TSA) of 56-kilodaltons located on the rickettsial surface is responsible for the variation. TSA56 is found in Orientia tsutsugamushi (O. tsutsugamushi), the causative agent of scrub typhus, an obligate intracellular pathogen. TSA56 is one of the three major outer membrane proteins of O. tsutsugamushi. It is required for adhesion. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that O. tsutsugamushi, can bind to fibronectin (Fn) via the antigenic membrane protein, TSA56. There are 3 extracellular antigen domains (ADs), where ADIII and adjacent C-terminal region of TSA56 waswere shown to be sufficient for Fn interaction and prohibiting Fn-enhanced invasion.
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