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 Fikrig, E.
Right arrow Articles by Flavell, R. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Fikrig, E.
Right arrow Articles by Flavell, R. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, March 2004, p. 1755-1759, Vol. 72, No. 3
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.3.1755-1759.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

OspB Antibody Prevents Borrelia burgdorferi Colonization of Ixodes scapularis

Erol Fikrig,1 Utpal Pal,1 Manchuan Chen,2 John F. Anderson,3 and Richard A. Flavell2,4*

Section of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine,1 Section of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine,2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute,3 Department of Entomology, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut 065204

Received 9 October 2003/ Returned for modification 14 November 2003/ Accepted 25 November 2003

Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface protein OspB is expressed by spirochetes in the Ixodes scapularis gut. ospB is transcribed from a bicistronic operon with ospA, a known spirochete adhesion gene in the tick gut. Here we examine whether OspB also has a specific function in ticks. OspB specifically binds to a protein or protein complex within the tick gut. We also assessed whether selected nonborreliacidal OspB antibodies or F(ab)2 fragments interfere with B. burgdorferi-tick attachment in vivo. We examined engorged ticks that fed on B. burgdorferi N40-infected scid mice that had been treated with OspB F(ab)2 fragments. Control F(ab)2 fragments did not interfere with B. burgdorferi colonization of the tick gut, whereas OspB F(ab)2 fragments significantly inhibited the attachment of spirochetes to the tick gut. These studies show that nonbactericidal OspB antibodies interfere with B. burgdorferi colonization of I. scapularis, highlighting a specific role for OspB in spirochete- arthropod interactions and suggesting new antibody-mediated strategies for interfering with B. burgdorferi transmission.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Section of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 Cedar St., TAC S-569, New Haven, CT 06520. Phone: (203) 737-2216. Fax: (203) 737-2958. E-mail: richard.flavell{at}yale.edu.

Editor: D. L. Burns

Infection and Immunity, March 2004, p. 1755-1759, Vol. 72, No. 3
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.3.1755-1759.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Seo, G.-M., Cheng, C., Tomich, J., Ganta, R. R. (2008). Total, Membrane, and Immunogenic Proteomes of Macrophage- and Tick Cell-Derived Ehrlichia chaffeensis Evaluated by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry and MALDI-TOF Methods. Infect. Immun. 76: 4823-4832 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Li, X., Neelakanta, G., Liu, X., Beck, D. S., Kantor, F. S., Fish, D., Anderson, J. F., Fikrig, E. (2007). Role of Outer Surface Protein D in the Borrelia burgdorferi Life Cycle. Infect. Immun. 75: 4237-4244 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ganta, R. R., Cheng, C., Miller, E. C., McGuire, B. L., Peddireddi, L., Sirigireddy, K. R., Chapes, S. K. (2007). Differential Clearance and Immune Responses to Tick Cell-Derived versus Macrophage Culture-Derived Ehrlichia chaffeensis in Mice. Infect. Immun. 75: 135-145 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Becker, M., Bunikis, J., Lade, B. D., Dunn, J. J., Barbour, A. G., Lawson, C. L. (2005). Structural Investigation of Borrelia burgdorferi OspB, a BactericidalFab Target. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 17363-17370 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Singu, V., Liu, H., Cheng, C., Ganta, R. R. (2005). Ehrlichia chaffeensis Expresses Macrophage- and Tick Cell-Specific 28-Kilodalton Outer Membrane Proteins. Infect. Immun. 73: 79-87 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»