scholarly journals Immune Response to Borrelia: Lessons from Lyme Disease Spirochetes

2022 ◽  
pp. 145-190
Author(s):  
Linda K. Bockenstedt ◽  
R. Mark Wooten ◽  
Nicole Baumgarth
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Lyme Disease

scholarly journals The Brilliance of Borrelia: Mechanisms of Host Immune Evasion by Lyme Disease-Causing Spirochetes

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 281
Author(s):  
Cassidy Anderson ◽  
Catherine A. Brissette
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Immune Evasion ◽  
Host Immune Response ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Lato ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Tick Saliva ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptide Resistance

Lyme disease (LD) has become the most common vector-borne illness in the northern hemisphere. The causative agent, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, is capable of establishing a persistent infection within the host. This is despite the activation of both the innate and adaptive immune responses. B. burgdorferi utilizes several immune evasion tactics ranging from the regulation of surface proteins, tick saliva, antimicrobial peptide resistance, and the disabling of the germinal center. This review aims to cover the various methods by which B. burgdorferi evades detection and destruction by the host immune response, examining both the innate and adaptive responses. By understanding the methods employed by B. burgdorferi to evade the host immune response, we gain a deeper knowledge of B. burgdorferi pathogenesis and Lyme disease, and gain insight into how to create novel, effective treatments.

Comparative evaluation of three different ELISA methods for the diagnosis of early culture-confirmed Lyme disease in Italy

2005 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Marangoni ◽  
Monica Sparacino ◽  
Francesca Cavrini ◽  
Elisa Storni ◽  
Valeria Mondardini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
False Positive ◽  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
Endemic Area ◽  
Blood Donors ◽  
Erythema Migrans ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Positive Reactivity

In this study the raising and development of the immune response to Borrelia burgdorferi infection in 45 Italian patients suffering from culture-confirmed Lyme borreliosis erythema migrans was investigated. A total of 95 serially collected serum samples were tested by using three different commercial ELISAs: recomWell Borrelia (Mikrogen), Enzygnost Borreliosis (DADE Behring) and Quick ELISA C6 Borrelia (Immunetics). The sensitivities of the ELISAs were as follows: Enzygnost Borreliosis IgM, 70.5 %; Quick ELISA C6 Borrelia, 62.1 %; recomWell Borrelia IgM, 55.7 %; recomWell Borrelia IgG, 57.9 %; and Enzygnost Borreliosis IgG, 36.8 %. In order to compare the specificity values of the three ELISAs, a panel of sera obtained from blood donors (210 samples coming from a non-endemic area and 24 samples from an endemic area) was tested, as well as sera from patients suffering from some of the most common biological conditions that could result in false-positive reactivity in Lyme disease serology (n = 40). RecomWell Borrelia IgG and recomWell Borrelia IgM were the most specific (97.1 % and 98.9 %, respectively), followed by Quick ELISA C6 Borrelia (96.7 %). Enzygnost Borreliosis IgG and IgM achieved 90.1 % and 92.3 % specificity, respectively. Sera that gave discrepant results when tested by the three ELISAs were further analysed by Western blotting.

scholarly journals Demonstration of the Genetic Stability and Temporal Expression of Select Members of the Lyme Disease Spirochete OspF Protein Family during Infection in Mice

2001 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 4831-4838 ◽  
Author(s):  
John V. McDowell ◽  
Shian Ying Sung ◽  
Gregory Price ◽  
Richard T. Marconi
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Gene Family ◽  
Immune Evasion ◽  
Humoral Immune Response ◽  
Genetic Stability ◽  
Gene Families ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Protein Family ◽  
Humoral Immune

ABSTRACT Infection with Lyme disease spirochetes can be chronic. This suggests that the spirochetes are capable of immune evasion. In a previous study we demonstrated that the ospE gene family, which is one of three gene families whose members are flanked at their 5′ end by the highly conserved upstream homology box (UHB) element, undergoes mutation and rearrangement during infection. This results in the generation of antigenically distinct variants that may contribute to immune evasion. In this study we have assessed the genetic stability of the UHB-flanked ospF gene family during infection in mice. Using postinfection clonal populations of Borrelia burgdorferi B31MI, PCR amplicons were generated for three members of the ospF gene family after a 3-month infection time frame. The amplicons were analyzed by single-nucleotide polymorphism pattern analysis and DNA sequencing. Members of the ospFgene family were found to be stable during infection, as no mutations or rearrangements were detected. An analysis of the humoral immune response to these proteins during infection revealed that the immune response to each is specific and that there is a delayed humoral immune response to some OspF protein family members. These analyses suggest that there is a temporal component to the expression of these genes during infection. In addition to a possible contribution to immune evasion, members of the OspF protein family may play specific roles at different stages of infection.

scholarly journals Changing of the guard: How the Lyme disease spirochete subverts the host immune response

2019 ◽  
Vol 295 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Chaconas ◽  
Mildred Castellanos ◽  
Theodore B. Verhey
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Antigenic Variation ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Transmitted Disease ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
One Step ◽  
The Many

Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is the most common tick-transmitted disease in the Northern Hemisphere. The disease is caused by the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and other related Borrelia species. One of the many fascinating features of this unique pathogen is an elaborate system for antigenic variation, whereby the sequence of the surface-bound lipoprotein VlsE is continually modified through segmental gene conversion events. This perpetual changing of the guard allows the pathogen to remain one step ahead of the acquired immune response, enabling persistent infection. Accordingly, the vls locus is the most evolutionarily diverse genetic element in Lyme disease–causing borreliae. Small stretches of information are transferred from a series of silent cassettes in the vls locus to generate an expressed mosaic vlsE gene version that contains genetic information from several different silent cassettes, resulting in ∼1040 possible vlsE sequences. Yet, despite its extreme evolutionary flexibility, the locus has rigidly conserved structural features. These include a telomeric location of the vlsE gene, an inverse orientation of vlsE and the silent cassettes, the presence of nearly perfect inverted repeats of ∼100 bp near the 5′ end of vlsE, and an exceedingly high concentration of G runs in vlsE and the silent cassettes. We discuss the possible roles of these evolutionarily conserved features, highlight recent findings from several studies that have used next-generation DNA sequencing to unravel the switching process, and review advances in the development of a mini-vls system for genetic manipulation of the locus.

scholarly journals Reservoir Targeted Vaccine for Lyme Borreliosis Induces a Yearlong, Neutralizing Antibody Response to OspA in White-Footed Mice

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 1809-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Meirelles Richer ◽  
Miguel Aroso ◽  
Tania Contente-Cuomo ◽  
Larisa Ivanova ◽  
Maria Gomes-Solecki
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Protein A ◽  
Surface Protein ◽  
Neutralizing Antibody ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wildlife Reservoirs ◽  
Minimum Number ◽  
Enzootic Cycle

ABSTRACTLyme disease is caused by the spirocheteBorrelia burgdorferi. The enzootic cycle of this pathogen requires thatIxodesspp. acquireB. burgdorferifrom infected wildlife reservoirs and transmit it to other uninfected wildlife. At present, there are no effective measures to controlB. burgdorferi; there is no human vaccine available, and existing vector control measures are generally not acceptable to the public. However, ifB. burgdorfericould be eliminated from its reservoir hosts or from the ticks that feed on them, the enzootic cycle would be broken, and the incidence of Lyme disease would decrease. We developed OspA-RTV, a reservoir targeted bait vaccine (RTV) based on the immunogenic outer surface protein A (OspA) ofB. burgdorferiaimed at breaking the natural cycle of this spirochete. White-footed mice, the major reservoir species for this spirochete in nature developed a systemic OspA-specific IgG response as a result of ingestion of the bait formulation. This immune response protected white-footed mice againstB. burgdorferiinfection upon tick challenge and clearedB. burgdorferifrom the tick vector. In performing extensive studies to optimize the OspA-RTV for field deployment, we determined that mice that consumed the vaccine over periods of 1 or 4 months developed a yearlong, neutralizing anti-OspA systemic IgG response. Furthermore, we defined the minimum number of OspA-RTV units needed to induce a protective immune response.

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