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Infect Immun, June 1998, p. 2648-2654, Vol. 66, No. 6
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Borrelia burgdorferi Erp Proteins Are Immunogenic in Mammals Infected by Tick Bite, and Their Synthesis Is Inducible in Cultured Bacteria

Brian Stevenson,* James L. Bono, Tom G. Schwan, and Patricia Rosa

Laboratory of Microbial Structure and Function, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840

Received 5 December 1997/Returned for modification 13 February 1998/Accepted 24 March 1998

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, can contain multiple genes encoding different members of the Erp lipoprotein family. Some arthropod-borne bacteria increase the synthesis of proteins required for transmission or mammalian infection when cultures are shifted from cool, ambient air temperature to a warmer, blood temperature. We found that all of the erp genes known to be encoded by infectious isolate B31 were differentially expressed in culture after a change in temperature, with greater amounts of message being produced by bacteria shifted from 23 to 35°C than in those maintained at 23°C. Mice infected with B31 by tick bite produced antibodies that recognized each of the Erp proteins within 4 weeks of infection, suggesting that the Erp proteins are produced by the bacteria during the early stages of mammalian infection and may play roles in transmission from ticks to mammals. Several of the B31 Erp proteins were also recognized by antibodies from patients with Lyme disease and may prove to be useful antigens for diagnostic testing or as components of a protective vaccine.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, MS 415 UKMC, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536. Phone: (606) 323-8967. Fax: (606) 257-8994. E-mail: lkspic00{at}pop.uky.edu.

Infect Immun, June 1998, p. 2648-2654, Vol. 66, No. 6
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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Copyright © 1998 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.