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 Crother, T. R.
Right arrow Articles by Lovett, M. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Crother, T. R.
Right arrow Articles by Lovett, M. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, September 2004, p. 5063-5072, Vol. 72, No. 9
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.9.5063-5072.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Temporal Analysis of the Antigenic Composition of Borrelia burgdorferi during Infection in Rabbit Skin

Timothy R. Crother,1,2* Cheryl I. Champion,1,2 Julian P. Whitelegge,3 Rodrigo Aguilera,4 Xiao-Yang Wu,1,2 David R. Blanco,1,2 James N. Miller,2 and Michael A. Lovett1

Departments of Medicine,1 Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics,2 The Pasarow Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of California— Los Angeles,3 School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California4

Received 7 April 2004/ Returned for modification 12 May 2004/ Accepted 27 May 2004

The numbers of host-adapted Borrelia burgdorferi (HAB) organisms in rabbit skin were assessed by real-time PCR over the first 3 weeks of infection. Maximal numbers were found at day 11, while spirochete numbers decreased by more than 30-fold by day 21. The antigenic composition of HAB in skin biopsy samples was determined by use of a procedure termed hydrophobic antigen tissue Triton extraction. Immune sera from rabbits, sera from chronically infected mice, and monospecific antiserum to the antigenic variation protein, VlsE, were used to probe parallel two-dimensional immunoblots representing each time point. Individual proteins were identified using either specific antisera or by matching protein spots to mass spectrometry-identified protein spots from in vitro-cultivated Borrelia. There were significant changes in the relative expression of a variety of known and previously unrecognized HAB antigens during the 21-day period. OspC and the outer membrane proteins OspA and OspB were prominent at the earliest time point, day 5, when the antigenic variation protein VlsE was barely detected. OspA and OspB were not detected after day 5. OspC was not detected after day 9. VlsE was the most prominent antigen from day 7 through day 21. BmpA, ErpN, ErpP, LA7, OppA-2, DbpA, and an unidentified 15-kDa protein were also detected from day 7 through day 21. Immunoblot analysis using monospecific anti-VlsE revealed the presence of prominent distinct VlsE lower forms in HAB at days 9, 11, and 14; however, these lower forms were no longer detected at day 21. This marked diminution in VlsE lower forms paralleled the clearance of the spirochete from skin.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, Los Angeles, 37-121 Center for Health Sciences, 10833 LeConte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095. Phone: (310) 825-4188. Fax: (310) 267-2265. E-mail: tcrother{at}mednet.ucla.edu.

Editor: D. L. Burns


Infection and Immunity, September 2004, p. 5063-5072, Vol. 72, No. 9
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.9.5063-5072.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Verma, A., Brissette, C. A., Bowman, A., Stevenson, B. (2009). Borrelia burgdorferi BmpA Is a Laminin-Binding Protein. Infect. Immun. 77: 4940-4946 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Vojdani, A., Hebroni, F., Raphael, Y., Erde, J., Raxlen, B. (2009). Novel Diagnosis of Lyme Disease: Potential for CAM Intervention. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 6: 283-295 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tilly, K., Bestor, A., Dulebohn, D. P., Rosa, P. A. (2009). OspC-Independent Infection and Dissemination by Host-Adapted Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect. Immun. 77: 2672-2682 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brissette, C. A., Verma, A., Bowman, A., Cooley, A. E., Stevenson, B. (2009). The Borrelia burgdorferi outer-surface protein ErpX binds mammalian laminin. Microbiology 155: 863-872 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brissette, C. A., Haupt, K., Barthel, D., Cooley, A. E., Bowman, A., Skerka, C., Wallich, R., Zipfel, P. F., Kraiczy, P., Stevenson, B. (2009). Borrelia burgdorferi Infection-Associated Surface Proteins ErpP, ErpA, and ErpC Bind Human Plasminogen. Infect. Immun. 77: 300-306 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Xu, Q., McShan, K., Liang, F. T. (2008). Modification of Borrelia burgdorferi to overproduce OspA or VlsE alters its infectious behaviour. Microbiology 154: 3420-3429 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Embers, M. E., Alvarez, X., Ooms, T., Philipp, M. T. (2008). The Failure of Immune Response Evasion by Linear Plasmid 28-1-Deficient Borrelia burgdorferi Is Attributable to Persistent Expression of an Outer Surface Protein. Infect. Immun. 76: 3984-3991 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Barbour, A. G., Jasinskas, A., Kayala, M. A., Davies, D. H., Steere, A. C., Baldi, P., Felgner, P. L. (2008). A Genome-Wide Proteome Array Reveals a Limited Set of Immunogens in Natural Infections of Humans and White-Footed Mice with Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect. Immun. 76: 3374-3389 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hughes, J. L., Nolder, C. L., Nowalk, A. J., Clifton, D. R., Howison, R. R., Schmit, V. L., Gilmore, R. D. Jr., Carroll, J. A. (2008). Borrelia burgdorferi Surface-Localized Proteins Expressed during Persistent Murine Infection Are Conserved among Diverse Borrelia spp.. Infect. Immun. 76: 2498-2511 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Xu, Q., Seemanaplli, S. V., McShan, K., Liang, F. T. (2007). Increasing the Interaction of Borrelia burgdorferi with Decorin Significantly Reduces the 50 Percent Infectious Dose and Severely Impairs Dissemination. Infect. Immun. 75: 4272-4281 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Strother, K. O., Hodzic, E., Barthold, S. W., de Silva, A. M. (2007). Infection of Mice with Lyme Disease Spirochetes Constitutively Producing Outer Surface Proteins A and B. Infect. Immun. 75: 2786-2794 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • von Lackum, K., Ollison, K. M., Bykowski, T., Nowalk, A. J., Hughes, J. L., Carroll, J. A., Zuckert, W. R., Stevenson, B. (2007). Regulated synthesis of the Borrelia burgdorferi inner-membrane lipoprotein IpLA7 (P22, P22-A) during the Lyme disease spirochaete's mammal-tick infectious cycle. Microbiology 153: 1361-1371 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tilly, K., Bestor, A., Jewett, M. W., Rosa, P. (2007). Rapid Clearance of Lyme Disease Spirochetes Lacking OspC from Skin. Infect. Immun. 75: 1517-1519 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Xu, Q., Seemanapalli, S. V., McShan, K., Liang, F. T. (2006). Constitutive Expression of Outer Surface Protein C Diminishes the Ability of Borrelia burgdorferi To Evade Specific Humoral Immunity. Infect. Immun. 74: 5177-5184 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Nowalk, A. J., Gilmore, R. D. Jr, Carroll, J. A. (2006). Serologic Proteome Analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi Membrane-Associated Proteins. Infect. Immun. 74: 3864-3873 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Tilly, K., Krum, J. G., Bestor, A., Jewett, M. W., Grimm, D., Bueschel, D., Byram, R., Dorward, D., VanRaden, M. J., Stewart, P., Rosa, P. (2006). Borrelia burgdorferi OspC Protein Required Exclusively in a Crucial Early Stage of Mammalian Infection.. Infect. Immun. 74: 3554-3564 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Xu, Q., Seemanapalli, S. V., Lomax, L., McShan, K., Li, X., Fikrig, E., Liang, F. T. (2005). Association of Linear Plasmid 28-1 with an Arthritic Phenotype of Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect. Immun. 73: 7208-7215 [Abstract] [Full Text]