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To die or not to die that is the question!<br><br>
Marcelo Barcinski's group have been studying apoptosis in
<i>Leishmania</i>. Recently they found that amastigotes feign
apoptotic death by exposing phosphatidyiserine (PS) which helps them get
into the macrophage without generating inflammation and their eventual
death.<br><br>
<font face="MS Sans Serif, Geneva">de Freitas Balanco J. M., Moreira M.
E., Bonomo A., Bozza P. T., Amarante-Mendes G., Pirmez C., Barcinski M.
A. (2001)Apoptotic mimicry by an obligate intracellular parasite
downregulates macrophage microbicidal activity. <i>Current Biology</i>,
<b>11</b>(23), 1870-3.</font></html>