This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gilmore, R. D.
Right arrow Articles by Mbow, M. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gilmore, R. D., Jr.
Right arrow Articles by Mbow, M. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, October 1999, p. 5463-5469, Vol. 67, No. 10
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Conformational Nature of the Borrelia burgdorferi B31 Outer Surface Protein C Protective Epitope

Robert D. Gilmore Jr.1,* and M. Lamine Mbow2

Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,1 and Department of Pathology, Colorado State University,2 Fort Collins, Colorado

Received 31 March 1999/Returned for modification 11 May 1999/Accepted 21 July 1999

Active immunization with Escherichia coli-expressed recombinant outer surface protein C (OspC) of Borrelia burgdorferi has been demonstrated to confer protection against a tick-transmitted infection on laboratory animals. A previous study in this laboratory showed that OspC antibody raised against a denatured immunogen isolated from B. burgdorferi cells failed to provide protective immunity. Therefore, to determine whether the protective epitope of the recombinant antigen was sensitive to denaturation, recombinant OspC preparations were subjected to heat and chemical treatments prior to animal immunization. Following seroconversion to OspC, the animals were challenged with an infectious dose of B. burgdorferi B31 by tick bite. Whereas mice immunized with a soluble, nondenatured form continued to show protection rates close to 100%, mice that had been immunized with denatured antigen were not protected. Furthermore, mice that were immunized with an insoluble (rather than a soluble), nondenatured form of the recombinant OspC showed a protection rate of only 40%. Protective epitope localization experiments showed that either the amino or the carboxy end of the recombinant protein was required to react with a protective OspC-specific monoclonal antibody. The data from these experiments demonstrate that a conformational organization of the protein is essential for the protective capability of the strain B31 OspC immunogen.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: DVBID, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, P.O. Box 2087, Foothills Campus, Fort Collins, CO 80522. Phone: (970) 221-6405. Fax: (970) 221-6476. E-mail: rbg9{at}cdc.gov.


Infection and Immunity, October 1999, p. 5463-5469, Vol. 67, No. 10
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Skamel, C., Ploss, M., Bottcher, B., Stehle, T., Wallich, R., Simon, M. M., Nassal, M. (2006). Hepatitis B Virus Capsid-like Particles Can Display the Complete, Dimeric Outer Surface Protein C and Stimulate Production of Protective Antibody Responses against Borrelia burgdorferi Infection. J. Biol. Chem. 281: 17474-17481 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Earnhart, C. G., Buckles, E. L., Dumler, J. S., Marconi, R. T. (2005). Demonstration of OspC Type Diversity in Invasive Human Lyme Disease Isolates and Identification of Previously Uncharacterized Epitopes That Define the Specificity of the OspC Murine Antibody Response. Infect. Immun. 73: 7869-7877 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jobe, D. A., Lovrich, S. D., Schell, R. F., Callister, S. M. (2003). C-Terminal Region of Outer Surface Protein C Binds Borreliacidal Antibodies in Sera from Patients with Lyme Disease. CVI 10: 573-578 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gilmore, R. D. Jr, Bacon, R. M., Carpio, A. M., Piesman, J., Dolan, M. C., Mbow, M. L. (2003). Inability of outer-surface protein C (OspC)-primed mice to elicit a protective anamnestic immune response to a tick-transmitted challenge of Borrelia burgdorferi. J Med Microbiol 52: 551-556 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • El-Hage, N., Stevenson, B. (2002). Simultaneous Coexpression of Borrelia burgdorferi Erp Proteins Occurs through a Specific, erp Locus-Directed Regulatory Mechanism. J. Bacteriol. 184: 4536-4543 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ulbrandt, N. D., Cassatt, D. R., Patel, N. K., Roberts, W. C., Bachy, C. M., Fazenbaker, C. A., Hanson, M. S. (2001). Conformational Nature of the Borrelia burgdorferi Decorin Binding Protein A Epitopes That Elicit Protective Antibodies. Infect. Immun. 69: 4799-4807 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Babb, K., El-Hage, N., Miller, J. C., Carroll, J. A., Stevenson, B. (2001). Distinct Regulatory Pathways Control Expression of Borrelia burgdorferi Infection-Associated OspC and Erp Surface Proteins. Infect. Immun. 69: 4146-4153 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • El-Hage, N., Babb, K., Carroll, J. A., Lindstrom, N., Fischer, E. R., Miller, J. C., Gilmore, R. D. Jr, Mbow, M. L., Stevenson, B. (2001). Surface exposure and protease insensitivity of Borrelia burgdorferi Erp (OspEF-related) lipoproteins. Microbiology 147: 821-830 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Barbour, A. G., Bundoc, V. (2001). In Vitro and In Vivo Neutralization of the Relapsing Fever Agent Borrelia hermsii with Serotype-Specific Immunoglobulin M Antibodies. Infect. Immun. 69: 1009-1015 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Shang, E. S., Wu, X.-y., Lovett, M. A., Miller, J. N., Blanco, D. R. (2001). Homologous and Heterologous Borrelia burgdorferi Challenge of Infection-Derived Immune Rabbits Using Host-Adapted Organisms. Infect. Immun. 69: 593-598 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Shang, E. S., Champion, C. I., Wu, X.-Y., Skare, J. T., Blanco, D. R., Miller, J. N., Lovett, M. A. (2000). Comparison of Protection in Rabbits against Host-Adapted and Cultivated Borrelia burgdorferi following Infection-Derived Immunity or Immunization with Outer Membrane Vesicles or Outer Surface Protein A. Infect. Immun. 68: 4189-4199 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Exner, M. M., Wu, X., Blanco, D. R., Miller, J. N., Lovett, M. A. (2000). Protection Elicited by Native Outer Membrane Protein Oms66 (p66) against Host-Adapted Borrelia burgdorferi: Conformational Nature of Bactericidal Epitopes. Infect. Immun. 68: 2647-2654 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Eicken, C., Sharma, V., Klabunde, T., Owens, R. T., Pikas, D. S., Hook, M., Sacchettini, J. C. (2001). Crystal Structure of Lyme Disease Antigen Outer Surface Protein C from Borrelia burgdorferi. J. Biol. Chem. 276: 10010-10015 [Abstract] [Full Text]