Previous Article | Next Article 
Infection and Immunity, September 2001, p. 5286-5293, Vol. 69, No. 9
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.9.5286-5293.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Borrelia burgdorferi RevA Antigen Is a Surface-Exposed
Outer Membrane Protein Whose Expression Is Regulated in Response to
Environmental Temperature and pH
James A.
Carroll,1,*
Nazira
El-Hage,2
Jennifer C.
Miller,2
Kelly
Babb,2 and
Brian
Stevenson2,*
Microscopy Branch, Rocky Mountain
Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana
59840,1 and Department of Microbiology
and Immunology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine,
Lexington, Kentucky 40536-02982
Received 30 March 2001/Returned for modification 15 May
2001/Accepted 29 May 2001
Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme
disease, produces RevA protein during the early stages of mammalian
infection. B. burgdorferi apparently uses temperature
as a cue to its location, producing proteins required for infection of
warm-blooded animals at temperatures corresponding to host body
temperature, but does not produce such virulence factors at cooler,
ambient temperatures. We have observed that B. burgdorferi regulates expression of RevA in response to
temperature, with the protein being synthesized by bacteria cultivated
at 34°C but not by those grown at 23°C. Tissues encountered by
B. burgdorferi during its infectious cycle vary in
their pH values, and the level of RevA expression was also found to be
dependent upon pH of the culture medium. The cellular localization of
RevA was also analyzed. Borrelial inner and outer membranes were
purified by isopycnic centrifugation, and membrane fractions were
conclusively identified by immunoblot analysis using antibodies raised
against the integral inner membrane protein MotB and outer
membrane-associated Erp lipoproteins. Immunoblot analyses indicated
that RevA is located in the B. burgdorferi outer
membrane. These analyses also demonstrated that an earlier report
(H. A. Bledsoe et al., Infect. Immun. 176:7447-7455, 1994) had
misidentified such B. burgdorferi membrane fractions.
RevA was further demonstrated to be exposed to the external
environment, where it could facilitate interactions with host tissues.
*
Corresponding authors. Mailing address for James A. Carroll: Microscopy Branch, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH,
903 South Fourth St., Hamilton, MT 59840. Phone: (406) 363-9407. Fax: (406) 363-9371. E-mail: jcarroll{at}niaid.nih.gov. Mailing
address for Brian Stevenson: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, MS 415 Chandler Medical Center, University of Kentucky College of
Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536-0298. Phone: (859) 257-9358. Fax: (859)
257-8994. E-mail: bstev0{at}pop.uky.edu.
Infection and Immunity, September 2001, p. 5286-5293, Vol. 69, No. 9
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.9.5286-5293.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Brissette, C. A., Bykowski, T., Cooley, A. E., Bowman, A., Stevenson, B.
(2009). Borrelia burgdorferi RevA Antigen Binds Host Fibronectin. Infect. Immun.
77: 2802-2812
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
He, M., Boardman, B. K., Yan, D., Yang, X. F.
(2007). Regulation of Expression of the Fibronectin-Binding Protein BBK32 in Borrelia burgdorferi. J. Bacteriol.
189: 8377-8380
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Gilmore, R. D. Jr., Howison, R. R., Schmit, V. L., Nowalk, A. J., Clifton, D. R., Nolder, C., Hughes, J. L., Carroll, J. A.
(2007). Temporal Expression Analysis of the Borrelia burgdorferi Paralogous Gene Family 54 Genes BBA64, BBA65, and BBA66 during Persistent Infection in Mice. Infect. Immun.
75: 2753-2764
[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]
-
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]
-
Bykowski, T., Babb, K., von Lackum, K., Riley, S. P., Norris, S. J., Stevenson, B.
(2006). Transcriptional Regulation of the Borrelia burgdorferi Antigenically Variable VlsE Surface Protein. J. Bacteriol.
188: 4879-4889
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
von Lackum, K., Miller, J. C., Bykowski, T., Riley, S. P., Woodman, M. E., Brade, V., Kraiczy, P., Stevenson, B., Wallich, R.
(2005). Borrelia burgdorferi Regulates Expression of Complement Regulator-Acquiring Surface Protein 1 during the Mammal-Tick Infection Cycle. Infect. Immun.
73: 7398-7405
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Motaleb, M. A., Sal, M. S., Charon, N. W.
(2004). The Decrease in FlaA Observed in a flaB Mutant of Borrelia burgdorferi Occurs Posttranscriptionally. J. Bacteriol.
186: 3703-3711
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Ostberg, Y., Carroll, J. A., Pinne, M., Krum, J. G., Rosa, P., Bergstrom, S.
(2004). Pleiotropic Effects of Inactivating a Carboxyl-Terminal Protease, CtpA, in Borrelia burgdorferi. J. Bacteriol.
186: 2074-2084
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Pinne, M., Ostberg, Y., Comstedt, P., Bergstrom, S.
(2004). Molecular analysis of the channel-forming protein P13 and its paralogue family 48 from different Lyme disease Borrelia species. Microbiology
150: 549-559
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Narasimhan, S., Caimano, M. J., Liang, F. T., Santiago, F., Laskowski, M., Philipp, M. T., Pachner, A. R., Radolf, J. D., Fikrig, E.
(2003). Borrelia burgdorferi transcriptome in the central nervous system of non-human primates. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
100: 15953-15958
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Carroll, J. A., Stewart, P. E., Rosa, P., Elias, A. F., Garon, C. F.
(2003). An enhanced GFP reporter system to monitor gene expression in Borrelia burgdorferi. Microbiology
149: 1819-1828
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Grimm, D., Elias, A. F., Tilly, K., Rosa, P. A.
(2003). Plasmid Stability during In Vitro Propagation of Borrelia burgdorferi Assessed at a Clonal Level. Infect. Immun.
71: 3138-3145
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Roberts, D. M., Caimano, M., McDowell, J., Theisen, M., Holm, A., Orff, E., Nelson, D., Wikel, S., Radolf, J., Marconi, R. T.
(2002). Environmental Regulation and Differential Production of Members of the Bdr Protein Family of Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect. Immun.
70: 7033-7041
[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]