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Infection and Immunity, April 1999, p. 1743-1749, Vol. 67, No. 4
Department of Molecular Genetics and
Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Medical Center,
Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
Received 17 September 1998/Returned for modification 25 November
1998/Accepted 1 January 1999
Lyme disease, a chronic multisystemic disorder that can affect the
skin, heart, joints, and nervous system is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Lyme disease spirochetes were previously shown to bind glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). In the current study, the
GAG-binding properties of eight Lyme disease strains were determined.
Binding by two high-passage HB19 derivatives to Vero cells could not be
inhibited by enzymatic removal of GAGs or by the addition of exogenous
GAG. The other six strains, which included a different high-passage
HB19 derivative (HB19 clone 1), were shown to recognize both heparan
sulfate and dermatan sulfate in cell-binding assays, but the
relative efficiency of binding to these two GAGs varied among the
strains. Strains N40, CA20-2A, and PBi bound predominantly to heparan
sulfate, PBo bound both heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate roughly
equally, and VS461 and HB19 clone 1 recognized primarily dermatan
sulfate. Cell binding by strain HB19 clone 1 was inhibited better by
exogenous dermatan sulfate than by heparin, whereas heparin was
the better inhibitor of binding by strain N40. The GAG-binding
preference of a Lyme disease strain was reflected in its
cell-type-specific binding. Strains that recognized predominantly
heparan sulfate bound efficiently to both C6 glioma cells and
EA-Hy926 cells, whereas strains that recognized predominantly dermatan
sulfate bound well only to the glial cells. The effect of lyase
treatment of these cells on bacterial binding was consistent
with the model that cell-type-specific binding was a reflection of the
GAG-binding preference. We conclude that the GAG-binding preference
varies with the strain of Lyme disease spirochete and that this
variation influences cell-type-specific binding in vitro.
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Strain Variation in Glycosaminoglycan Recognition
Influences Cell-Type-Specific Binding by Lyme Disease
Spirochetes
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Massachusetts
Medical Center, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655. Phone: (508) 856-4059. Fax: (508) 856-5920. E-mail:
john.leong{at}banyan.ummed.edu.
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