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Infection and Immunity, December 2005, p. 7869-7877, Vol. 73, No. 12
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.12.7869-7877.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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

Christopher G. Earnhart,1 Eric L. Buckles,1 John Stephen Dumler,2 and Richard T. Marconi1,3*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology,1 Center for the Study of Biological Complexity, Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0678,3 Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland2

Received 15 March 2005/ Returned for modification 26 July 2005/ Accepted 28 August 2005

Outer surface protein C (OspC) of the Lyme disease spirochetes is an important virulence factor that has potential utility for vaccine development. Of the 21 OspC types that have been identified, it has been postulated that types A, B, I, and K are specifically associated with invasive infections. Through an analysis of isolates collected from patients in Maryland we found that OspC types C, D, and N are also associated with invasive infections. This observation suggests that there is greater diversity in the group of OspC types associated with invasive infection than has been previously suggested. Detailed knowledge of the antigenic structure of OspC is essential for vaccine development. To determine if the antibody response to OspC is type specific, recombinant proteins of several different OspC types were immunoblotted and screened with sera from mice infected with isolates having known OspC types. These analyses revealed a high degree of specificity in the antibody response and suggested that the immunodominant epitopes of OspC reside in the variable domains of the protein. To localize these epitopes, OspC fragments were generated and screened with serum collected from infected mice. These analyses led to identification of previously uncharacterized epitopes that define the type specificity of the OspC antibody response. These analyses provide important insight into the antigenic structure of OspC and also provide a basis for understanding the variable nature of the antibody response to this important virulence factor of the Lyme disease spirochetes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298-0678. Phone: (804) 828-3779. Fax: (804) 828-9946. E-mail: rmarconi{at}hsc.vcu.edu.

Editor: V. J. DiRita

Infection and Immunity, December 2005, p. 7869-7877, Vol. 73, No. 12
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.12.7869-7877.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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