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Pine M, Arora G, Hart TM, Bettini E, Gaudette BT, Muramatsu H, Tombácz I, Kambayashi T, Tam YK, Brisson D, Allman D, Locci M, Weissman D, Fikrig E, Pardi N. Development of an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine against Lyme disease. Mol Ther 2023; 31:2702-2714. [PMID: 37533256 PMCID: PMC10492027 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2023.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne infectious disease in the United States, in part because a vaccine against it is not currently available for humans. We propose utilizing the lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated nucleoside-modified mRNA (mRNA-LNP) platform to generate a Lyme disease vaccine like the successful clinical vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Of the antigens expressed by Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, outer surface protein A (OspA) is the most promising candidate for vaccine development. We have designed and synthesized an OspA-encoding mRNA-LNP vaccine and compared its immunogenicity and protective efficacy to an alum-adjuvanted OspA protein subunit vaccine. OspA mRNA-LNP induced superior humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in mice after a single immunization. These potent immune responses resulted in protection against bacterial infection. Our study demonstrates that highly efficient mRNA vaccines can be developed against bacterial targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Pine
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Gunjan Arora
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Thomas M Hart
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Emily Bettini
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Brian T Gaudette
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Hiromi Muramatsu
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - István Tombácz
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Taku Kambayashi
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ying K Tam
- Acuitas Therapeutics, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Dustin Brisson
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - David Allman
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michela Locci
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Drew Weissman
- Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Erol Fikrig
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Norbert Pardi
- Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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Król N, Obiegala A, Imholt C, Arz C, Schmidt E, Jeske K, Ulrich RG, Rentería-Solís Z, Jacob J, Pfeffer M. Diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in ticks and small mammals from different habitats. Parasit Vectors 2022; 15:195. [PMID: 35672762 PMCID: PMC9175456 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-022-05326-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ixodid ticks are important vectors for zoonotic pathogens, with Ixodes ricinus being the most important in Europe. Rodents are hosts of immature life stages of I. ricinus ticks and are considered main reservoirs for tick-borne pathogens, e.g. Borrelia burgdorferi. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence as well as genospecies and sequence type (ST) diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in ticks and small mammals from central Germany and to elaborate on the influence of environmental and/or individual host and vector factors on Borrelia prevalence. METHODS After species identification, 1167 small mammal skin samples and 1094 ticks from vegetation were screened by B. burgdorferi sensu lato real-time polymerase chain reaction, and positive samples were characterized by multilocus sequence typing. Generalized linear (mixed) models were used to estimate how seasonality, small mammal species/tick life stage and habitat affect individual infection status. RESULTS In total, 10 small mammal species and three tick species, Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes inopinatus (both considered members of the I. ricinus complex) and Dermacentor reticulatus, were investigated. Borrelia DNA was detected in eight host species, i.e. the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), the yellow-necked field mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), the water vole (Arvicola amphibius), the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), the field vole (Microtus agrestis), the common vole (Microtus arvalis), and the common shrew (Sorex araneus). Two species were Borrelia negative, the greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) and the pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus). The average prevalence was 6.2%, with two genospecies detected, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii, and at least three STs that had not been previously reported in small mammals. Borrelia prevalence in small mammals did not differ between seasons. Six genospecies of Borrelia-Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmanii, and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto-and 25 STs of Borrelia, of which 12 have not been previously described at all and five have not been previously reported in Germany, were detected in 13% of I. ricinus complex ticks. Prevalence was highest in adult females (25.3%) and lowest in nymphs (11.4%). Prevalence was significantly higher in ticks from grassland (16.8%) compared to forests (11.4%). CONCLUSIONS The high level of small mammal diversity in this region of Germany seems to be reflected in a wide variety of genospecies and STs of B. burgdorferi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Król
- Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anna Obiegala
- Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christian Imholt
- Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests, Julius Kühn-Institute, Toppheideweg 88, 48161, Münster, Germany
| | - Charlotte Arz
- Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Schmidt
- Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kathrin Jeske
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald, Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Rainer Günter Ulrich
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493, Greifswald, Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Zaida Rentería-Solís
- Institute for Parasitology, Centre for Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jens Jacob
- Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests, Julius Kühn-Institute, Toppheideweg 88, 48161, Münster, Germany
| | - Martin Pfeffer
- Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
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The evolving story of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato transmission in Europe. Parasitol Res 2022; 121:781-803. [PMID: 35122516 PMCID: PMC8816687 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-022-07445-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Beside mosquitoes, ticks are well-known vectors of different human pathogens. In the Northern Hemisphere, Lyme borreliosis (Eurasia, LB) or Lyme disease (North America, LD) is the most commonly occurring vector-borne infectious disease caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia which are transmitted by hard ticks of the genus Ixodes. The reported incidence of LB in Europe is about 22.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants annually with a broad range depending on the geographical area analyzed. However, the epidemiological data are largely incomplete, because LB is not notifiable in all European countries. Furthermore, not only differ reporting procedures between countries, there is also variation in case definitions and diagnostic procedures. Lyme borreliosis is caused by several species of the Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex which are maintained in complex networks including ixodid ticks and different reservoir hosts. Vector and host influence each other and are affected by multiple factors including climate that have a major impact on their habitats and ecology. To classify factors that influence the risk of transmission of B. burgdorferi s.l. to their different vertebrate hosts as well as to humans, we briefly summarize the current knowledge about the pathogens including their astonishing ability to overcome various host immune responses, regarding the main vector in Europe Ixodes ricinus, and the disease caused by borreliae. The research shows, that a higher standardization of case definition, diagnostic procedures, and standardized, long-term surveillance systems across Europe is necessary to improve clinical and epidemiological data.
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Ford L, Tufts DM. Lyme Neuroborreliosis: Mechanisms of B. burgdorferi Infection of the Nervous System. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11060789. [PMID: 34203671 PMCID: PMC8232152 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11060789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 06/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in the United States, infecting ~476,000 people annually. Borrelia spp. spirochetal bacteria are the causative agents of Lyme disease in humans and are transmitted by Ixodes spp ticks. Clinical manifestations vary depending on which Borrelia genospecies infects the patient and may be a consequence of distinct organotropism between species. In the US, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto is the most commonly reported genospecies and infection can manifest as mild to severe symptoms. Different genotypes of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto may be responsible for causing varying degrees of clinical manifestations. While the majority of Lyme borreliae-infected patients fully recover with antibiotic treatment, approximately 15% of infected individuals experience long-term neurological and psychological symptoms that are unresponsive to antibiotics. Currently, long-term antibiotic treatment remains the only FDA-approved option for those suffering from these chronic effects. Here, we discuss the current knowledge pertaining to B. burgdorferi sensu stricto infection in the central nervous system (CNS), termed Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), within North America and specifically the United States. We explore the molecular mechanisms of spirochete entry into the brain and the role B. burgdorferi sensu stricto genotypes play in CNS infectivity. Understanding infectivity can provide therapeutic targets for LNB treatment and offer public health understanding of the B. burgdorferi sensu stricto genotypes that cause long-lasting symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenzie Ford
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Correspondence: (L.F.); (D.M.T.)
| | - Danielle M. Tufts
- Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Department, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
- Correspondence: (L.F.); (D.M.T.)
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Pal U, Kitsou C, Drecktrah D, Yaş ÖB, Fikrig E. Interactions Between Ticks and Lyme Disease Spirochetes. Curr Issues Mol Biol 2020; 42:113-144. [PMID: 33289683 DOI: 10.21775/cimb.042.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato causes Lyme borreliosis in a variety of animals and humans. These atypical bacterial pathogens are maintained in a complex enzootic life cycle that primarily involves a vertebrate host and Ixodes spp. ticks. In the Northeastern United States, I. scapularis is the main vector, while wild rodents serve as the mammalian reservoir host. As B. burgdorferi is transmitted only by I. scapularis and closely related ticks, the spirochete-tick interactions are thought to be highly specific. Various borrelial and arthropod proteins that directly or indirectly contribute to the natural cycle of B. burgdorferi infection have been identified. Discrete molecular interactions between spirochetes and tick components also have been discovered, which often play critical roles in pathogen persistence and transmission by the arthropod vector. This review will focus on the past discoveries and future challenges that are relevant to our understanding of the molecular interactions between B. burgdorferi and Ixodes ticks. This information will not only impact scientific advancements in the research of tick- transmitted infections but will also contribute to the development of novel preventive measures that interfere with the B. burgdorferi life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Utpal Pal
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, 8075 Greenmead Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Chrysoula Kitsou
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, 8075 Greenmead Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Dan Drecktrah
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59812, USA
| | - Özlem Büyüktanir Yaş
- Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Istinye University, Zeytinburnu, İstanbul, 34010, Turkey
| | - Erol Fikrig
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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Gupta A, Arora G, Rosen CE, Kloos Z, Cao Y, Cerny J, Sajid A, Hoornstra D, Golovchenko M, Rudenko N, Munderloh U, Hovius JW, Booth CJ, Jacobs-Wagner C, Palm NW, Ring AM, Fikrig E. A human secretome library screen reveals a role for Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 1 in Lyme borreliosis. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1009030. [PMID: 33175909 PMCID: PMC7657531 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne illness in North America, is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Infection begins in the skin following a tick bite and can spread to the hearts, joints, nervous system, and other organs. Diverse host responses influence the level of B. burgdorferi infection in mice and humans. Using a systems biology approach, we examined potential molecular interactions between human extracellular and secreted proteins and B. burgdorferi. A yeast display library expressing 1031 human extracellular proteins was probed against 36 isolates of B. burgdorferi sensu lato. We found that human Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 1 (PGLYRP1) interacted with the vast majority of B. burgdorferi isolates. In subsequent experiments, we demonstrated that recombinant PGLYRP1 interacts with purified B. burgdorferi peptidoglycan and exhibits borreliacidal activity, suggesting that vertebrate hosts may use PGLYRP1 to identify B. burgdorferi. We examined B. burgdorferi infection in mice lacking PGLYRP1 and observed an increased spirochete burden in the heart and joints, along with splenomegaly. Mice lacking PGLYRP1 also showed signs of immune dysregulation, including lower serum IgG levels and higher levels of IFNγ, CXCL9, and CXCL10.Taken together, our findings suggest that PGLYRP1 plays a role in the host’s response to B. burgdorferi and further demonstrate the utility of expansive yeast display screening in capturing biologically relevant interactions between spirochetes and their hosts. Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness in North America and is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease starts with a tick bite that leads to a skin rash and inflammation in other organs of the body, such as hearts and joints. B. burgdorferi uses many strategies to evade detection and persist in the human host. It is important to have efficient methods to be able to identify the various components of the immune system that interact with B. burgdorferi to better understand the disease process, but few currently exist. In this study, we used a novel yeast display screening assay of over 1,000 human immune proteins probed against several isolates of Borrelia to uncover biologically relevant interactions for the Lyme disease pathogen. We identified Peptidoglycan Recognition Protein 1 (PGLYRP1), an innate immune protein important in defense against bacteria, as a major candidate from this screen. We validated the interaction of PGLYRP1 with Borrelia and were able to use PGLYRP1-deficient mice as a model to understand the role of this protein in Lyme disease pathogenesis. Our study demonstrates the potential implications of yeast screens in uncovering important host-pathogen interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akash Gupta
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Gunjan Arora
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Connor E. Rosen
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Zachary Kloos
- Microbiology Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Yongguo Cao
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, and Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Jiri Cerny
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Andaleeb Sajid
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Dieuwertje Hoornstra
- Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Amsterdam Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Maryna Golovchenko
- Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology Czech Academy of Sciences, Buweiss, Czech Republic
| | - Natalie Rudenko
- Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology Czech Academy of Sciences, Buweiss, Czech Republic
| | - Ulrike Munderloh
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Joppe W. Hovius
- Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Amsterdam Infection and Immunity, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Carmen J. Booth
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Christine Jacobs-Wagner
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
- ChEM-H Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Noah W. Palm
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail: (NWP); (AMR); (EF)
| | - Aaron M. Ring
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail: (NWP); (AMR); (EF)
| | - Erol Fikrig
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail: (NWP); (AMR); (EF)
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Structural analysis of the outer surface proteins from Borrelia burgdorferi paralogous gene family 54 that are thought to be the key players in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease. J Struct Biol 2020; 210:107490. [PMID: 32135236 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2020.107490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex spirochetes. Through a complex enzootic cycle, the bacteria transfer between two different hosts: Ixodes ticks and mammalian organisms. At the start of the tick blood meal, the spirochetes located in the tick gut upregulate the expression of several genes, mainly coding for outer surface proteins. Outer surface proteins belonging to the paralogous gene family 54 (PFam54) have been shown to be the most upregulated among the other borrelial proteins and the results clearly point to the potential importance of these proteins in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease. The significance of PFam54 proteins is confirmed by the fact that of all ten PFam54 proteins, BBA64 and BBA66 are necessary for the transfer of B. burgdorferi from infected Ixodes ticks to mammalian hosts. To enhance the understanding of the pathogenesis of Lyme disease and to promote the development of novel therapies against Lyme disease, we solved the crystal structure of the PFam54 member BBA65. Additionally, we report the structure of the B. burgdorferi BBA64 orthologous protein from B. spielmanii. Together with the previously determined crystal structures of five PFam54 members and several related proteins, we performed a comprehensive structural analysis for this important group of proteins. In addition to revealing the molecular aspects of the proteins, the structural data analysis suggests that the gene families PFam54 and PFam60, which have long been referred to as separate paralogous families, should be merged into one and designated as PFam54_60.
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Generality of Post-Antimicrobial Treatment Persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi Strains N40 and B31 in Genetically Susceptible and Resistant Mouse Strains. Infect Immun 2019; 87:IAI.00442-19. [PMID: 31308087 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00442-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
A basic feature of infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent of Lyme borreliosis, is that persistent infection is the rule in its many hosts. The ability to persist and evade host immune clearance poses a challenge to effective antimicrobial treatment. A link between therapy failure and the presence of persister cells has started to emerge. There is growing experimental evidence that viable but noncultivable spirochetes persist following treatment with several different antimicrobial agents. The current study utilized the mouse model to evaluate if persistence occurs following antimicrobial treatment in disease-susceptible (C3H/HeJ [C3H]) and disease-resistant (C57BL/6 [B6]) mouse strains infected with B. burgdorferi strains N40 and B31 and to confirm the generality of this phenomenon, as well as to assess the persisters' clinical relevance. The status of infection was evaluated at 12 and 18 months after treatment. The results demonstrated that persistent spirochetes remain viable for up to 18 months following treatment, as well as being noncultivable. The phenomenon of persistence in disease-susceptible C3H mice is equally evident in disease-resistant B6 mice and not unique to any particular B. burgdorferi strain. The results also demonstrate that, following antimicrobial treatment, both strains of B. burgdorferi, N40 and B31, lose one or more plasmids. The study demonstrated that noncultivable spirochetes can persist in a host following antimicrobial treatment for a long time but did not demonstrate their clinical relevance in a mouse model of chronic infection. The clinical relevance of persistent spirochetes beyond 18 months following antimicrobial treatment requires further studies in other animal models.
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Federizon J, Lin YP, Lovell JF. Antigen Engineering Approaches for Lyme Disease Vaccines. Bioconjug Chem 2019; 30:1259-1272. [PMID: 30987418 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.9b00167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Increasing rates of Lyme disease necessitate preventive measures such as immunization to mitigate the risk of contracting the disease. At present, there is no human Lyme disease vaccine available on the market. Since the withdrawal of the first and only licensed Lyme disease vaccine based on lipidated recombinant OspA, vaccine and antigen research has aimed to overcome its risks and shortcomings. Replacement of the putative cross-reactive T-cell epitope in OspA via mutation or chimerism addresses the potential risk of autoimmunity. Multivalent approaches in Lyme disease vaccines have been pursued to address sequence heterogeneity of Lyme borreliae antigens and to induce a repertoire of functional antibodies necessary for efficient heterologous protection. This Review summarizes recent antigen engineering strategies that have paved the way for the development of next generation vaccines against Lyme disease, some of which have reached clinical testing. Bioconjugation methods that incorporate antigens to self-assembling nanoparticles for immune response potentiation are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmin Federizon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering , University at Buffalo, State University of New York , Buffalo , New York 14260 , United States
| | - Yi-Pin Lin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health , Albany , New York 12208 , United States.,Department of Biomedical Sciences , State University of New York at Albany , Albany , New York 12222 , United States
| | - Jonathan F Lovell
- Department of Biomedical Engineering , University at Buffalo, State University of New York , Buffalo , New York 14260 , United States
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Estrada-Peña A, Cabezas-Cruz A. Phyloproteomic and functional analyses do not support a split in the genus Borrelia (phylum Spirochaetes). BMC Evol Biol 2019; 19:54. [PMID: 30760200 PMCID: PMC6375133 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-019-1379-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The evolutionary history of a species is frequently derived from molecular sequences, and the resulting phylogenetic trees do not include explicit functional information. Here, we aimed to assess the functional relationships among bacteria in the Spirochaetes phylum, based on the biological processes of 42,489 proteins in reference proteomes of 34 Spirochaetes species. We tested the hypothesis that the species in the genus Borrelia might be sufficiently different to warrant splitting them into two separate genera. Results A detrended canonical analysis demonstrated that the presence/absence of biological processes among selected bacteria contained a strong phylogenetic signal, which did not separate species of Borrelia. We examined the ten biological processes in which most proteins were involved consistently. This analysis demonstrated that species in Borrelia were more similar to each other than to free-life species (Sediminispirochaeta, Spirochaeta, Sphaerochaeta) or to pathogenic species without vectors (Leptospira, Treponema, Brachyspira), which are highly divergent. A dendrogram based on the presence/absence of proteins in the reference proteomes demonstrated that distances between species of the same genus among free-life or pathogenic non-vector species were higher than the distances between the 19 species (27 strains) of Borrelia. A phyloproteomic network supported the close functional association between species of Borrelia. In the proteome of 27 strains of Borrelia, only a few proteins had evolved separately, in the relapsing fever and Lyme borreliosis groups. The most prominent Borrelia proteins and processes were a subset of those also found in free-living and non-vectored pathogenic species. In addition, the functional innovation (i.e., unique biological processes or proteins) of Borrelia was very low, compared to other genera of Spirochaetes. Conclusions We found only marginal functional differences among Borrelia species. Phyloproteomic networks that included all pairwise combinations between species, proteins, and processes were more effective than other methods for evaluating the evolutionary relationships among taxa. With the limitations of data availability, our results did not support a split of the arthropod-transmitted spirochaetes into the proposed genera, Borrelia and Borreliella. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12862-019-1379-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustín Estrada-Peña
- Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Miguel Servet, 177, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
- UMR BIPAR, INRA, ANSES, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Université Paris-Est, 94700, Maisons-Alfort, France
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11
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Navasa N, Fikrig E, Anguita J. Host Defenses to Spirochetes. Clin Immunol 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-7020-6896-6.00028-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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12
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Di Domenico EG, Cavallo I, Bordignon V, D'Agosto G, Pontone M, Trento E, Gallo MT, Prignano G, Pimpinelli F, Toma L, Ensoli F. The Emerging Role of Microbial Biofilm in Lyme Neuroborreliosis. Front Neurol 2018; 9:1048. [PMID: 30559713 PMCID: PMC6287027 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.01048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common tick-borne disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi in North America and Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii in Europe and Asia, respectively. The infection affects multiple organ systems, including the skin, joints, and the nervous system. Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) is the most dangerous manifestation of Lyme disease, occurring in 10-15% of infected individuals. During the course of the infection, bacteria migrate through the host tissues altering the coagulation and fibrinolysis pathways and the immune response, reaching the central nervous system (CNS) within 2 weeks after the bite of an infected tick. The early treatment with oral antimicrobials is effective in the majority of patients with LNB. Nevertheless, persistent forms of LNB are relatively common, despite targeted antibiotic therapy. It has been observed that the antibiotic resistance and the reoccurrence of Lyme disease are associated with biofilm-like aggregates in B. burgdorferi, B. afzelii, and B. garinii, both in vitro and in vivo, allowing Borrelia spp. to resist to adverse environmental conditions. Indeed, the increased tolerance to antibiotics described in the persisting forms of Borrelia spp., is strongly reminiscent of biofilm growing bacteria, suggesting a possible role of biofilm aggregates in the development of the different manifestations of Lyme disease including LNB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enea Gino Di Domenico
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Cavallo
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Bordignon
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Giovanna D'Agosto
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Pontone
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Elisabetta Trento
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Teresa Gallo
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Grazia Prignano
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Fulvia Pimpinelli
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Luigi Toma
- Department of Research, Advanced Diagnostics, and Technological Innovation, Translational Research Area, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Ensoli
- Clinical Pathology and Microbiology Unit, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute IRCCS, Rome, Italy
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Borrelia burgdorferi SpoVG DNA- and RNA-Binding Protein Modulates the Physiology of the Lyme Disease Spirochete. J Bacteriol 2018; 200:JB.00033-18. [PMID: 29632088 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00033-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The SpoVG protein of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, binds to specific sites of DNA and RNA. The bacterium regulates transcription of spoVG during the natural tick-mammal infectious cycle and in response to some changes in culture conditions. Bacterial levels of spoVG mRNA and SpoVG protein did not necessarily correlate, suggesting that posttranscriptional mechanisms also control protein levels. Consistent with this, SpoVG binds to its own mRNA, adjacent to the ribosome-binding site. SpoVG also binds to two DNA sites in the glpFKD operon and to two RNA sites in glpFKD mRNA; that operon encodes genes necessary for glycerol catabolism and is important for colonization in ticks. In addition, spirochetes engineered to dysregulate spoVG exhibited physiological alterations.IMPORTANCEB. burgdorferi persists in nature by cycling between ticks and vertebrates. Little is known about how the bacterium senses and adapts to each niche of the cycle. The present studies indicate that B. burgdorferi controls production of SpoVG and that this protein binds to specific sites of DNA and RNA in the genome and transcriptome, respectively. Altered expression of spoVG exerts effects on bacterial replication and other aspects of the spirochete's physiology.
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14
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Estrada-Peña A, Álvarez-Jarreta J, Cabezas-Cruz A. Reservoir and vector evolutionary pressures shaped the adaptation of Borrelia. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2018; 66:308-318. [PMID: 29654924 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2018.03.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2017] [Revised: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/24/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
The life cycle of spirochetes of the genus Borrelia includes complex networks of vertebrates and ticks. The tripartite association of Borrelia-vertebrate-tick has proved ecologically successful for these bacteria, which have become some of the most prominent tick-borne pathogens in the northern hemisphere. To keep evolutionary pace with its double-host life history, Borrelia must adapt to the evolutionary pressures exerted by both sets of hosts. In this review, we attempt to reconcile functional, phylogenetic, and ecological perspectives to propose a coherent scenario of Borrelia evolution. Available empirical information supports that the association of Borrelia with ticks is very old. The major split between the tick families Argasidae-Ixodidae (dated some 230-290 Mya) resulted in most relapsing fever (Rf) species being restricted to Argasidae and few associated with Ixodidae. A further key event produced the diversification of the Lyme borreliosis (Lb) species: the radiation of ticks of the genus Ixodes from the primitive stock of Ixodidae (around 217 Mya). The ecological interactions of Borrelia demonstrate that Argasidae-transmitted Rf species remain restricted to small niches of one tick species and few vertebrates. The evolutionary pressures on this group are consequently low, and speciation processes seem to be driven by geographical isolation. In contrast to Rf, Lb species circulate in nested networks of dozens of tick species and hundreds of vertebrate species. This greater variety confers a remarkably variable pool of evolutionary pressures, resulting in large speciation of the Lb group, where different species adapt to circulate through different groups of vertebrates. Available data, based on ospA and multilocus sequence typing (including eight concatenated in-house genes) phylogenetic trees, suggest that ticks could constitute a secondary bottleneck that contributes to Lb specialization. Both sets of adaptive pressures contribute to the resilience of highly adaptable meta-populations of bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jorge Álvarez-Jarreta
- Institute of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
- UMR BIPAR, INRA, ANSES, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Université Paris-Est, Maisons-Alfort 94700, France; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; Institute of Parasitology, Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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15
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Ma XX, Ma P, Chang QY, Liu ZB, Zhang D, Zhou XK, Ma ZR, Cao X. Adaptation ofBorrelia burgdorferito its natural hosts by synonymous codon and amino acid usage. J Basic Microbiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/jobm.201700652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Xia Ma
- Engineering and Technology Research Center for Animal Cell, Gansu; College of Life Science and Engineering; Northwest Minzu University; Gansu P.R. China
| | - Peng Ma
- Engineering and Technology Research Center for Animal Cell, Gansu; College of Life Science and Engineering; Northwest Minzu University; Gansu P.R. China
| | - Qiu-Yan Chang
- Engineering and Technology Research Center for Animal Cell, Gansu; College of Life Science and Engineering; Northwest Minzu University; Gansu P.R. China
| | - Zhen-Bin Liu
- Engineering and Technology Research Center for Animal Cell, Gansu; College of Life Science and Engineering; Northwest Minzu University; Gansu P.R. China
| | - Derong Zhang
- Engineering and Technology Research Center for Animal Cell, Gansu; College of Life Science and Engineering; Northwest Minzu University; Gansu P.R. China
| | - Xiao-Kai Zhou
- Engineering and Technology Research Center for Animal Cell, Gansu; College of Life Science and Engineering; Northwest Minzu University; Gansu P.R. China
| | - Zhong-Ren Ma
- Engineering and Technology Research Center for Animal Cell, Gansu; College of Life Science and Engineering; Northwest Minzu University; Gansu P.R. China
| | - Xin Cao
- Engineering and Technology Research Center for Animal Cell, Gansu; College of Life Science and Engineering; Northwest Minzu University; Gansu P.R. China
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16
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Aslam B, Nisar MA, Khurshid M, Farooq Salamat MK. Immune escape strategies of Borrelia burgdorferi. Future Microbiol 2017; 12:1219-1237. [PMID: 28972415 DOI: 10.2217/fmb-2017-0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The borrelial resurge demonstrates that Borrelia burgdorferi is a persistent health problem. This spirochete is responsible for a global public health concern called Lyme disease. B. burgdorferi faces diverse environmental conditions of its vector and host during its life cycle. To circumvent the host immune system is a prominent feature of B. burgdorferi. To date, numerous studies have reported on the various mechanisms used by this pathogen to evade the host defense mechanisms. This current review attempts to consolidate this information to describe the immunological and molecular methods used by B. burgdorferi for its survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bilal Aslam
- Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Atif Nisar
- Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Mohsin Khurshid
- Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.,College of Allied Health Professionals, Directorate of Medical Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
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17
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Rozwadowska B, Albertyńska M, Okła H, Jasik KP, Swinarew AS, Mazurek U, Dudek S, Urbańska-Jasik D, Poprawa I. Induction of Apoptosis in Normal Human Dermal Fibroblasts Infected withBorrelia burgdorferiSensu Lato. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017; 17:237-242. [DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2016.2057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Beata Rozwadowska
- Department of Skin Structural Studies, School of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
| | - Marta Albertyńska
- Department of Skin Structural Studies, School of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
| | - Hubert Okła
- Department of Skin Structural Studies, School of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
- Institute of Materials Science, Faculty of Computer Science and Materials Science, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
| | - Krzysztof P. Jasik
- Department of Skin Structural Studies, School of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
| | - Andrzej S. Swinarew
- Institute of Materials Science, Faculty of Computer Science and Materials Science, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
| | - Urszula Mazurek
- Department of Molecular Biology, School of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
| | - Sławomir Dudek
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, School of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
| | - Danuta Urbańska-Jasik
- Department of Animal Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
| | - Izabela Poprawa
- Department of Animal Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland
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18
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Ouyang Z, Zhou J. The putative Walker A and Walker B motifs of Rrp2 are required for the growth of Borrelia burgdorferi. Mol Microbiol 2016; 103:86-98. [PMID: 27696536 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Rrp2 encodes a putative bacterial enhancer binding protein (bEBP) in Borrelia burgdorferi. Point mutation (G239C) of Rrp2 abolishes the transcriptional activation of σ54 -dependent rpoS. In contrast to canonical bEBPs that are dispensable for bacterial growth, Rrp2 is essential for borrelial growth in BSK medium. It has been believed that Rrp2's ATPase activity is not required for cell growth, but experimental evidence supporting this notion has been lacking. In particular, it has remained unclear whether the residue G239 is involved in Rrp2's presumptive ATPase activity. To address these information gaps, we examined the roles of Rrp2's potential strategic signatures including the G239 residue and the putative Walker A and Walker B motifs. Herein it was showed that Rrp2 has ATP binding and hydrolysis activities engendered by the Walker A and B motifs respectively. However, these activities were not significantly impaired by a G239C mutation. Further mutagenesis analyses indicated that Rrp2's Walker A and B motifs are required for borrelial growth; mutations of key residues in these two motifs were lethal to B. burgdorferi. The combined data suggest that the Walker A and Walker B motifs of Rrp2 are involved in the control of another unknown RpoS-independent gene product(s) associated with borrelial replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiming Ouyang
- Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Jianli Zhou
- Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
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19
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Absence of sodA Increases the Levels of Oxidation of Key Metabolic Determinants of Borrelia burgdorferi. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0136707. [PMID: 26322513 PMCID: PMC4556403 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2014] [Accepted: 08/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, alters its gene expression in response to environmental signals unique to its tick vector or vertebrate hosts. B. burgdorferi carries one superoxide dismutase gene (sodA) capable of controlling intracellular superoxide levels. Previously, sodA was shown to be essential for infection of B. burgdorferi in the C3H/HeN model of Lyme disease. We employed two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and immunoblot analysis with antibodies specific to carbonylated proteins to identify targets that were differentially oxidized in the soluble fractions of the sodA mutant compared to its isogenic parental control strain following treatment with an endogenous superoxide generator, methyl viologen (MV, paraquat). HPLC-ESI-MS/MS analysis of oxidized proteins revealed that several proteins of the glycolytic pathway (BB0057, BB0020, BB0348) exhibited increased carbonylation in the sodA mutant treated with MV. Levels of ATP and NAD/NADH were reduced in the sodA mutant compared with the parental strain following treatment with MV and could be attributed to increased levels of oxidation of proteins of the glycolytic pathway. In addition, a chaperone, HtpG (BB0560), and outer surface protein A (OspA, BBA15) were also observed to be oxidized in the sodA mutant. Immunoblot analysis revealed reduced levels of Outer surface protein C (OspC), Decorin binding protein A (DbpA), fibronectin binding protein (BBK32), RpoS and BosR in the sodA mutant compared to the control strains. Viable sodA mutant spirochetes could not be recovered from both gp91/phox-⁄- and iNOS deficient mice while borrelial DNA was detected in multiple tissues samples from infected mice at significantly lower levels compared to the parental strain. Taken together, these observations indicate that the increased oxidation of select borrelial determinants and reduced levels of critical pathogenesis-associated lipoproteins contribute to the in vivo deficit of the sodA mutant in the mouse model of Lyme disease. This study, utilizing the sodA mutant, has provided insights into adaptive capabilities critical for survival of B. burgdorferi in its hosts.
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20
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Lemgruber L, Sant'Anna C, Griffths C, Abud Y, Mhlanga M, Wallich R, Frischknecht F. Nanoscopic Localization of Surface-Exposed Antigens of Borrelia burgdorferi. MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY SOCIETY OF AMERICA, MICROBEAM ANALYSIS SOCIETY, MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 2015; 21:680-688. [PMID: 25739645 DOI: 10.1017/s1431927615000318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Ixodes spp. ticks. Successful infection of vertebrate hosts necessitates sophisticated means of the pathogen to escape the vertebrates' immune system. One strategy employed by Lyme disease spirochetes to evade adaptive immunity involves a highly coordinated regulation of the expression of outer surface proteins that is vital for infection, dissemination, and persistence. Here we characterized the expression pattern of bacterial surface antigens using different microscopy techniques, from fluorescent wide field to super-resolution and immunogold-scanning electron microscopy. A fluorescent strain of B. burgdorferi spirochetes was labeled with monoclonal antibodies directed against various bacterial surface antigens. Our results indicate that OspA is more evenly distributed over the surface than OspB and OspC that were present as punctate areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Lemgruber
- 1Department of Infectious Diseases - Parasitology,Im Neuenheimer Feld 324,University of Heidelberg Medical School,69120, Heidelberg,Germany
| | - Celso Sant'Anna
- 2Laboratory of Microscopy for Life Sciences,Diretoria de Metrologia Aplicada às Ciências da Vida - Dimav,Instituto Nacional de Metrologia,Qualidade e Tecnologia - Inmetro,25250-020,Duque de Caxias,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil
| | - Caron Griffths
- 4Gene Expression and Biophysics Group,Synthetic Biology Emerging Research Area,Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,Box 395,Pretoria 0001S,South Africa
| | - Yuri Abud
- 2Laboratory of Microscopy for Life Sciences,Diretoria de Metrologia Aplicada às Ciências da Vida - Dimav,Instituto Nacional de Metrologia,Qualidade e Tecnologia - Inmetro,25250-020,Duque de Caxias,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil
| | - Musa Mhlanga
- 4Gene Expression and Biophysics Group,Synthetic Biology Emerging Research Area,Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,Box 395,Pretoria 0001S,South Africa
| | - Reinhard Wallich
- 5Institute for Immunology,Im Neuenheimer Feld 305,University of Heidelberg Medical School,69120,Heidelberg,Germany
| | - Friedrich Frischknecht
- 1Department of Infectious Diseases - Parasitology,Im Neuenheimer Feld 324,University of Heidelberg Medical School,69120, Heidelberg,Germany
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21
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Merino O, Alberdi P, Pérez de la Lastra JM, de la Fuente J. Tick vaccines and the control of tick-borne pathogens. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2013; 3:30. [PMID: 23847771 PMCID: PMC3705209 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2013.00030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2013] [Accepted: 06/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites that transmit a wide variety of pathogens to humans and animals. The incidence of tick-borne diseases has increased worldwide in both humans and domestic animals over the past years resulting in greater interest in the study of tick-host-pathogen interactions. Advances in vector and pathogen genomics and proteomics have moved forward our knowledge of the vector-pathogen interactions that take place during the colonization and transmission of arthropod-borne microbes. Tick-borne pathogens adapt from the vector to the mammalian host by differential gene expression thus modulating host processes. In recent years, studies have shown that targeting tick proteins by vaccination can not only reduce tick feeding and reproduction, but also the infection and transmission of pathogens from the tick to the vertebrate host. In this article, we review the tick-protective antigens that have been identified for the formulation of tick vaccines and the effect of these vaccines on the control of tick-borne pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Octavio Merino
- SaBio, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos IREC-CSIC-UCLM-JCCM Ciudad Real, Spain
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22
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Vaumourin E, Gasqui P, Buffet JP, Chapuis JL, Pisanu B, Ferquel E, Vayssier-Taussat M, Vourc'h G. A probabilistic model in cross-sectional studies for identifying interactions between two persistent vector-borne pathogens in reservoir populations. PLoS One 2013; 8:e66167. [PMID: 23840418 PMCID: PMC3688727 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2013] [Accepted: 05/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In natural populations, individuals are infected more often by several pathogens than by just one. In such a context, pathogens can interact. This interaction could modify the probability of infection by subsequent pathogens. Identifying when pathogen associations correspond to biological interactions is a challenge in cross-sectional studies where the sequence of infection cannot be demonstrated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here we modelled the probability of an individual being infected by one and then another pathogen, using a probabilistic model and maximum likelihood statistics. Our model was developed to apply to cross-sectional data, vector-borne and persistent pathogens, and to take into account confounding factors. Our modelling approach was more powerful than the commonly used Chi-square test of independence. Our model was applied to detect potential interaction between Borrelia afzelii and Bartonella spp. that infected a bank vole population at 11% and 57% respectively. No interaction was identified. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE The modelling approach we proposed is powerful and can identify the direction of potential interaction. Such an approach can be adapted to other types of pathogens, such as non-persistents. The model can be used to identify when co-occurrence patterns correspond to pathogen interactions, which will contribute to understanding how organism communities are assembled and structured. In the long term, the model's capacity to better identify pathogen interactions will improve understanding of infectious risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise Vaumourin
- INRA, UR346 Epidémiologie Animale, Saint Genès Champanelle, France.
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23
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Kung F, Anguita J, Pal U. Borrelia burgdorferi and tick proteins supporting pathogen persistence in the vector. Future Microbiol 2013; 8:41-56. [PMID: 23252492 DOI: 10.2217/fmb.12.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, a pathogen transmitted by Ixodes ticks, is responsible for a prevalent illness known as Lyme disease, and a vaccine for human use is unavailable. Recently, genome sequences of several B. burgdorferi strains and Ixodes scapularis ticks have been determined. In addition, remarkable progress has been made in developing molecular genetic tools to study the pathogen and vector, including their intricate relationship. These developments are helping unravel the mechanisms by which Lyme disease pathogens survive in a complex enzootic infection cycle. Notable discoveries have already contributed to understanding the spirochete gene regulation accounting for the temporal and spatial expression of B. burgdorferi genes during distinct phases of the lifecycle. A number of pathogen and vector gene products have also been identified that contribute to microbial virulence and/or persistence. These research directions will enrich our knowledge of vector-borne infections and contribute towards the development of preventative strategies against Lyme disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faith Kung
- Department of Veterinary Medicine & Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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24
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Complement evasion by Borrelia burgdorferi: it takes three to tango. Trends Parasitol 2013; 29:119-28. [PMID: 23298533 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2012.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2012] [Revised: 11/30/2012] [Accepted: 12/04/2012] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The complement system is one of the major innate defense mechanisms Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato has to overcome to establish an infection of mammalian hosts and to cause Lyme borreliosis in humans. Borrelia prevents complement-mediated killing during host colonization through (i) recruitment of host complement regulators by Borrelia, (ii) evasion mechanisms by Borrelia itself, and (iii) exploitation of tick proteins by Borrelia. These interactions with complement can be host species-specific. This review provides an overview of interactions between Borrelia, tick, and host leading to evasion of complement-mediated killing.
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25
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Patton TG, Brandt KS, Gilmore RD. Borrelia burgdorferi visualized in Ixodes scapularis tick excrement by immunofluorescence. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2012; 12:1000-3. [PMID: 22651382 DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2011.0922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The enzootic cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, involves Ixodes spp. ticks and vertebrates. Resident tick Borrelia, harbored inside the midgut, are eventually expelled with the tick's saliva into the vertebrate host when a tick consumes a blood meal. During this 4- to 5-day feeding period I. scapularis will defecate onto the host's skin. Previously we detected borrelial DNA in tick feces throughout engorgement. In this study we report the microscopic examination for B. burgdorferi in nymphal excrement. Using immunofluorescence assays, we observed Borrelia in all mouse skin and capsule fecal swabs tested, although we could not culture the spirochetes. These results update our previous analysis by revealing that spirochetes can also be visualized in tick excrement. Furthermore, the results emphasize that borrelial contamination by defecation is a possibility, and that caution should be exercised by researchers investigating pathogen/host/vector interactions. The biological significance of the presence of non-culturable Borrelia in tick feces during engorgement is unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toni G Patton
- Microbiology and Pathogenesis Activity, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA.
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Patton TG, Dietrich G, Brandt K, Dolan MC, Piesman J, Gilmore RD. Saliva, salivary gland, and hemolymph collection from Ixodes scapularis ticks. J Vis Exp 2012:3894. [PMID: 22371172 PMCID: PMC3912584 DOI: 10.3791/3894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Ticks are found worldwide and afflict humans with many tick-borne illnesses. Ticks are vectors for pathogens that cause Lyme disease and tick-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia spp.), Rocky Mountain Spotted fever (Rickettsia rickettsii), ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia chaffeensis and E. equi), anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum), encephalitis (tick-borne encephalitis virus), babesiosis (Babesia spp.), Colorado tick fever (Coltivirus), and tularemia (Francisella tularensis) (1-8). To be properly transmitted into the host these infectious agents differentially regulate gene expression, interact with tick proteins, and migrate through the tick (3,9-13). For example, the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, adapts through differential gene expression to the feast and famine stages of the tick's enzootic cycle (14,15). Furthermore, as an Ixodes tick consumes a bloodmeal Borrelia replicate and migrate from the midgut into the hemocoel, where they travel to the salivary glands and are transmitted into the host with the expelled saliva (9,16-19). As a tick feeds the host typically responds with a strong hemostatic and innate immune response (11,13,20-22). Despite these host responses, I. scapularis can feed for several days because tick saliva contains proteins that are immunomodulatory, lytic agents, anticoagulants, and fibrinolysins to aid the tick feeding (3,11,20,21,23). The immunomodulatory activities possessed by tick saliva or salivary gland extract (SGE) facilitate transmission, proliferation, and dissemination of numerous tick-borne pathogens (3,20,24-27). To further understand how tick-borne infectious agents cause disease it is essential to dissect actively feeding ticks and collect tick saliva. This video protocol demonstrates dissection techniques for the collection of hemolymph and the removal of salivary glands from actively feeding I. scapularis nymphs after 48 and 72 hours post mouse placement. We also demonstrate saliva collection from an adult female I. scapularis tick.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toni G Patton
- Microbiology and Pathogenesis Activity, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Eggers CH, Caimano MJ, Malizia RA, Kariu T, Cusack B, Desrosiers DC, Hazlett KRO, Claiborne A, Pal U, Radolf JD. The coenzyme A disulphide reductase of Borrelia burgdorferi is important for rapid growth throughout the enzootic cycle and essential for infection of the mammalian host. Mol Microbiol 2011; 82:679-97. [PMID: 21923763 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2011.07845.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
In a microarray analysis of the RpoS regulon in mammalian host-adapted Borrelia burgdorferi, bb0728 (cdr) was found to be dually transcribed by the sigma factors σ(70) and RpoS. The cdr gene encodes a coenzyme A disulphide reductase (CoADR) that reduces CoA-disulphides to CoA in an NADH-dependent manner. Based on the abundance of CoA in B. burgdorferi and the biochemistry of the enzyme, CoADR has been proposed to play a role in the spirochaete's response to reactive oxygen species. To better understand the physiologic function(s) of BbCoADR, we generated a B. burgdorferi mutant in which the cdr gene was disrupted. RT-PCR and 5'-RACE analysis revealed that cdr and bb0729 are co-transcribed from a single transcriptional start site upstream of the bb0729 coding sequence; a shuttle vector containing the bb0729-cdr operon and upstream promoter element was used to complement the cdr mutant. Although the mutant was no more sensitive to hydrogen peroxide than its parent, it did exhibit increased sensitivity to high concentrations of t-butyl-hydroperoxide, an oxidizing compound that damages spirochetal membranes. Characterization of the mutant during standard (15% oxygen, 6% CO(2)) and anaerobic (< 1% O(2) , 9-13% CO(2)) cultivation at 37°C revealed a growth defect under both conditions that was particularly striking during anaerobiosis. The mutant was avirulent by needle inoculation and showed decreased survival in feeding nymphs, but displayed no survival defect in unfed flat nymphs. Based on these results, we propose that BbCoADR is necessary to maintain optimal redox ratios for CoA/CoA-disulphide and NAD(+) /NADH during periods of rapid replication throughout the enzootic cycle, to support thiol-disulphide homeostasis, and to indirectly protect the spirochaete against peroxide-mediated membrane damage; one or more of these functions are essential for infection of the mammalian host by B. burgdorferi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian H Eggers
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT 06518, USA.
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Oligopeptide permease A5 modulates vertebrate host-specific adaptation of Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect Immun 2011; 79:3407-20. [PMID: 21628523 DOI: 10.1128/iai.05234-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, undergoes rapid adaptive gene expression in response to signals unique to its arthropod vector or vertebrate hosts. Among the upregulated genes under vertebrate host conditions is one of the five annotated homologs of oligopeptide permease A (OppA5, BBA34). A mutant lacking oppA5 was constructed in an lp25-deficient isolate of B. burgdorferi strain B31, and the minimal regions of infectivity were restored via a shuttle vector pBBE22 with or without an intact copy of bba34. Immunoblot analysis of the bba34 mutant revealed a reduction in the levels of RpoS, BosR, and CsrA(Bb) with a concomitant reduction in the levels of OspC, DbpA, BBK32, and BBA64. There were no changes in the levels of OspA, NapA, P66, and three other OppA orthologs. Quantitative transcriptional analysis correlated with the changes in the protein levels. However, the bba34 mutant displayed comparable infectivities in the C3H/HeN mice and the wild-type strain, despite the reduction in several pathogenesis-related proteins. Supplementation of the growth medium with increased levels of select components, notably sodium acetate and sodium bicarbonate, restored the levels of several proteins in the bba34 mutant to wild-type levels. We speculate that the transport of acetate appears to contribute to the accumulation of key metabolites, like acetyl phosphate, that facilitate the adaptation of B. burgdorferi to the vertebrate host by the activation of the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathway. These studies underscore the importance of solute transport to host-specific adaptation of B. burgdorferi.
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29
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Patton TG, Dietrich G, Dolan MC, Piesman J, Carroll JA, Gilmore RD. Functional analysis of the Borrelia burgdorferi bba64 gene product in murine infection via tick infestation. PLoS One 2011; 6:e19536. [PMID: 21559293 PMCID: PMC3086921 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2011] [Accepted: 03/31/2011] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, is transmitted to humans from the bite of Ixodes spp. ticks. During the borrelial tick-to-mammal life cycle, B. burgdorferi must adapt to many environmental changes by regulating several genes, including bba64. Our laboratory recently demonstrated that the bba64 gene product is necessary for mouse infectivity when B. burgdorferi is transmitted by an infected tick bite, but not via needle inoculation. In this study we investigated the phenotypic properties of a bba64 mutant strain, including 1) replication during tick engorgement, 2) migration into the nymphal salivary glands, 3) host transmission, and 4) susceptibility to the MyD88-dependent innate immune response. Results revealed that the bba64 mutant's attenuated infectivity by tick bite was not due to a growth defect inside an actively feeding nymphal tick, or failure to invade the salivary glands. These findings suggested there was either a lack of spirochete transmission to the host dermis or increased susceptibility to the host's innate immune response. Further experiments showed the bba64 mutant was not culturable from mouse skin taken at the nymphal bite site and was unable to establish infection in MyD88-deficient mice via tick infestation. Collectively, the results of this study indicate that BBA64 functions at the salivary gland-to-host delivery interface of vector transmission and is not involved in resistance to MyD88-mediated innate immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toni G. Patton
- Microbiology and Pathogenesis Activity, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Gabrielle Dietrich
- Tick-Borne Diseases Activity, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Marc C. Dolan
- Tick-Borne Diseases Activity, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Joseph Piesman
- Tick-Borne Diseases Activity, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - James A. Carroll
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Robert D. Gilmore
- Microbiology and Pathogenesis Activity, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Bugrysheva JV, Godfrey HP, Schwartz I, Cabello FC. Patterns and regulation of ribosomal RNA transcription in Borrelia burgdorferi. BMC Microbiol 2011; 11:17. [PMID: 21251259 PMCID: PMC3037291 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-11-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2010] [Accepted: 01/20/2011] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Borrelia burgdorferi contains one 16S and two tandem sets of 23S-5S ribosomal (r) RNA genes whose patterns of transcription and regulation are unknown but are likely to be critical for survival and persistence in its hosts. Results RT-PCR of B. burgdorferi N40 and B31 revealed three rRNA region transcripts: 16S rRNA-alanine transfer RNA (tRNAAla); tRNAIle; and both sets of 23S-5S rRNA. At 34°C, there were no differences in growth rate or in accumulation of total protein, DNA and RNA in B31 cultured in Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly (BSK)-H whether rabbit serum was present or not. At 23°C, B31 grew more slowly in serum-containing BSK-H than at 34°C. DNA per cell was higher in cells in exponential as compared to stationary phase at either temperature; protein per cell was similar at both temperatures in both phases. Similar amounts of rRNA were produced in exponential phase at both temperatures, and rRNA was down-regulated in stationary phase at either temperature. Interestingly, a relBbu deletion mutant unable to generate (p)ppGpp did not down-regulate rRNA at transition to stationary phase in serum-containing BSK-H at 34°C, similar to the relaxed phenotype of E. coli relA mutants. Conclusions We conclude that rRNA transcription in B. burgdorferi is complex and regulated both by growth phase and by the stringent response but not by temperature-modulated growth rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia V Bugrysheva
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Basic Science Building, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
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CsrA modulates levels of lipoproteins and key regulators of gene expression critical for pathogenic mechanisms of Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect Immun 2010; 79:732-44. [PMID: 21078860 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00882-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbon storage regulator A (CsrA) is an RNA binding protein that has been characterized in many bacterial species to play a central regulatory role by modulating several metabolic processes. We recently showed that a homolog of CsrA in Borrelia burgdorferi (CsrA(Bb), BB0184) was upregulated in response to propagation of B. burgdorferi under mammalian host-specific conditions. In order to further delineate the role of CsrA(Bb), we generated a deletion mutant designated ES10 in a linear plasmid 25-negative isolate of B. burgdorferi strain B31 (ML23). The deletion mutant was screened by PCR and Southern blot hybridization, and a lack of synthesis of CsrA(Bb) in ES10 was confirmed by immunoblot analysis. Analysis of ES10 propagated at pH 6.8/37°C revealed a significant reduction in the levels of OspC, DbpA, BBK32, and BBA64 compared to those for the parental wild-type strain propagated under these conditions, while there were no significant changes in the levels of either OspA or P66. Moreover, the levels of two regulatory proteins, RpoS and BosR, were also found to be lower in ES10 than in the control strain. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR analysis of total RNA extracted from the parental strain and csrA(Bb) mutant revealed significant differences in gene expression consistent with the changes at the protein level. Neither the csrA(Bb) mutant nor the trans-complemented strain was capable of infection following intradermal needle inoculation in C3H/HeN mice at either 10³ or 10⁵ spirochetes per mouse. The further characterization of molecular basis of regulation mediated by CsrA(Bb) will provide significant insights into the pathophysiology of B. burgdorferi.
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Ouyang Z, Kumar M, Kariu T, Haq S, Goldberg M, Pal U, Norgard MV. BosR (BB0647) governs virulence expression in Borrelia burgdorferi. Mol Microbiol 2009; 74:1331-43. [PMID: 19889086 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2009.06945.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Summary Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the Lyme disease spirochaete, encodes a potential ferric uptake regulator (Fur) homologue, BosR (BB0647). Thus far, a role for BosR in Bb metabolism, gene regulation or pathogenesis has not been determined, largely due to the heretofore inability to inactivate bosR in low-passage, infectious Bb isolates. Herein, we report the generation of the first bosR-deficient mutant in a virulent strain of Bb. Whereas the bosR mutant persisted normally in ticks, the mutant was unable to infect mice, indicating that BosR is essential for Bb infection of a mammalian host. Moreover, transcriptional profiling of the bosR mutant showed that a number of genes were either positively or negatively influenced by BosR deficiency, suggesting that BosR may function both as a global repressor and activator in Bb. Strikingly, our study showed that BosR controls the expression of two major virulence-associated Bb lipoproteins, OspC and DbpA, likely via an influence on the alternative sigma factor, RpoS. This study thus not only has elucidated another key virulence gene of Bb, but also provides new insights into a previously unknown layer of gene regulation governing RpoS in Bb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiming Ouyang
- Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
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33
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Overexpression of CsrA (BB0184) alters the morphology and antigen profiles of Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect Immun 2009; 77:5149-62. [PMID: 19737901 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00673-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, alters its gene expression in response to highly disparate environmental signals encountered in its hosts. Among the relatively few regulators of adaptive gene expression present in the borrelial genome is an open reading frame (ORF), BB0184, annotated as CsrA (carbon storage regulator A). CsrA, in several bacterial species, has been characterized as a small RNA binding protein that functions as a global regulator affecting mRNA stability or levels of translation of multiple ORFs. Consistent with known functions of CsrA, overexpression of CsrA from B. burgdorferi (CsrABb) in Escherichia coli resulted in reduced accumulation of glycogen. We determined that csrABb is part of the flgK motility operon and that the synthesis of CsrABb was increased when B. burgdorferi was propagated under fed-tick conditions. Overexpression of CsrABb in B. burgdorferi strain B31 (ML23, lp25-negative clonal isolate) resulted in a clone, designated ES25, which exhibited alterations in colony morphology and a significant reduction in the levels of FlaB. Several lipoproteins previously characterized as playing a role in infectivity were also altered in ES25. Real-time reverse transcription-PCR analysis of RNA revealed significant differences in the transcriptional levels of ospC in ES25, while there were no such differences in the levels of other transcripts, suggesting posttranscriptional regulation of expression of these latter genes. These observations indicate that CsrABb plays a role in the regulation of expression of pathophysiological determinants of B. burgdorferi, and further characterization of CsrABb will help in better understanding of the regulators of gene expression in B. burgdorferi.
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Sorouri R, Ranjbar R, Jonaidi Jafari N, Karami A. Rapid detection of Borrelia burgdorferi strains by nested polymerase chain reaction. Pak J Biol Sci 2009; 12:463-6. [PMID: 19579990 DOI: 10.3923/pjbs.2009.463.466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This study was carried out to evaluate the nested PCR for specific detection of different strains of B. burgdorferi. Five strains of B. burgdorferi including ACA-1, B-31, 2B45, 3B45, 7B49 obtained from different countries were used in this study. The strains of B. hermsii, Escherichia. coli and T. pallidum were also included as control strains. Two pairs of nested PCR primers were used to amplify the gene encoding the Osp-A protein of B. burgdorfer under standard PCR condition. In a two stage procedure, nested PCR yielded a positive reaction for five tested strains of B. burgdorferi. None the strains including B. hermsii, E. coli and T. pallidum showed positive reaction when used as control strains in PCR. In conclusion, nested PCR showed acceptable specificity for rapid detection ofB. burgdorferi.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Sorouri
- Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan Medical Sciences University, Zanjan, Iran
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35
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Tsao JI. Reviewing molecular adaptations of Lyme borreliosis spirochetes in the context of reproductive fitness in natural transmission cycles. Vet Res 2009; 40:36. [PMID: 19368764 PMCID: PMC2701186 DOI: 10.1051/vetres/2009019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2008] [Accepted: 04/15/2009] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Lyme borreliosis (LB) is caused by a group of pathogenic spirochetes – most often Borrelia burgdorferi, B. afzelii, and B. garinii – that are vectored by hard ticks in the Ixodes ricinus-persulcatus complex, which feed on a variety of mammals, birds, and lizards. Although LB is one of the best-studied vector-borne zoonoses, the annual incidence in North America and Europe leads other vector-borne diseases and continues to increase. What factors make the LB system so successful, and how can researchers hope to reduce disease risk – either through vaccinating humans or reducing the risk of contacting infected ticks in nature? Discoveries of molecular interactions involved in the transmission of LB spirochetes have accelerated recently, revealing complex interactions among the spirochete-tick-vertebrate triad. These interactions involve multiple, and often redundant, pathways that reflect the evolution of general and specific mechanisms by which the spirochetes survive and reproduce. Previous reviews have focused on the molecular interactions or population biology of the system. Here molecular interactions among the LB spirochete, its vector, and vertebrate hosts are reviewed in the context of natural maintenance cycles, which represent the ecological and evolutionary contexts that shape these interactions. This holistic system approach may help researchers develop additional testable hypotheses about transmission processes, interpret laboratory results, and guide development of future LB control measures and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean I Tsao
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48864, USA.
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36
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Esteve-Gassent MD, Elliott NL, Seshu J. sodA is essential for virulence of Borrelia burgdorferi in the murine model of Lyme disease. Mol Microbiol 2008; 71:594-612. [PMID: 19040638 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06549.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has a limited set of genes to combat oxidative/nitrosative stress encountered in its tick vector or mammalian hosts. We inactivated the gene encoding for superoxide dismutase A (sodA, bb0153), an enzyme mediating the dismutation of superoxide anions and examined the in vitro and in vivo phenotype of the mutant. There were no significant differences in the in vitro growth characteristics of the sodA mutant compared with the control strains. Microscopic analysis of viability of spirochaetes revealed greater percentage of cell death upon treatment of sodA mutant with superoxide generators compared with its controls. Infectivity analysis in C3H/HeN mice following intradermal needle inoculation of 10(3) or 10(5) spirochaetes per mouse revealed complete attenuation of infectivity for the sodA mutant compared with control strains at 21 days post infection. The sodA mutant was more susceptible to the effects of activated macrophages and neutrophils, suggesting that its in vivo phenotype is partly due to the killing effects of activated immune cells. These studies indicate that SodA plays an important role in combating oxidative stress and is essential for the colonization and dissemination of B. burgdorferi in the murine model of Lyme disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria D Esteve-Gassent
- South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Department of Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
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37
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He M, Oman T, Xu H, Blevins J, Norgard MV, Yang XF. Abrogation of ospAB constitutively activates the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathway (sigmaN-sigmaS cascade) in Borrelia burgdorferi. Mol Microbiol 2008; 70:1453-64. [PMID: 19019147 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06491.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Molecular mechanisms underlying the reciprocal regulation of the two major surface lipoproteins and virulence factors of Borrelia burgdorferi, OspA and OspC, are not fully understood. Herein, we report that inactivation of the ospAB operon resulted in overproduction of OspC and many other lipoproteins via the constitutive activation of the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathway. Complementing the ospAB mutant with a wild-type copy of ospA, but not an ospA variant that lacks the lipoprotein signal sequence, restored normal regulation of the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathway; these results indicate that the phenotype was not caused by spurious mutations. Interestingly, while most of the ospAB mutant clones displayed a constitutive ospC expression phenotype, some ospAB mutant clones showed little or no ospC expression. Further analyses revealed that this OspC-negative phenotype was independent of abrogation of ospAB. While activation of the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathway was recently shown to downregulate ospA, our findings suggest that reduction of OspA can also activate this pathway. We postulate that the activation of the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS pathway and downregulation of OspA form a positive feedback loop that allows spirochaetes to produce and maintain a constant high level of OspC and other lipoproteins during tick feeding, a strategy that is critical for spirochaetal transmission and mammalian infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming He
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
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38
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Deletion of BBA64, BBA65, and BBA66 loci does not alter the infectivity of Borrelia burgdorferi in the murine model of Lyme disease. Infect Immun 2008; 76:5274-84. [PMID: 18765733 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00803-08] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, alters its gene expression in response to highly disparate environmental signals encountered in its tick vector versus vertebrate hosts. Whole-genome transcriptional profile analysis of B. burgdorferi, propagated in vitro under mammalian-host-specific conditions, revealed significant upregulation of several linear plasmid 54 (lp54)-encoded open reading frames (ORFs). Among these ORFs, BBA64, BBA65, and BBA66 have been shown to be upregulated in response to multiple mammalian-host-specific signals. Recently, we determined that there was no significant difference in the ability of BBA64(-) mutant to infect C3H/HeN mice compared to its isogenic control strains, suggesting that B. burgdorferi might utilize multiple, functionally related determinants to establish infection. We further generated BBA65(-) and BBA66(-) single mutants in a noninfectious, lp25(-) clonal isolate of B. burgdorferi strain B31 (ML23) and complemented them with the minimal region of lp25 (BBE22) required for restoring the infectivity. In addition, we generated a BBA64(-) BBA65(-) BBA66(-) triple mutant using an infectious, clonal isolate of B. burgdorferi strain B31 (5A11) that has all of the infection-associated plasmids. There were no significant differences in the ability to isolate viable spirochetes from different tissues of C3H/HeN mice infected via intradermal needle inoculation with either the individual single mutants or the triple mutant compared to their respective isogenic parental strains at days 21 and 62 postinfection. These observations suggest that B. burgdorferi can establish infection in the absence of expression of BBA64, BBA65, and BBA66 in the murine model of Lyme disease.
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39
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Reciprocal expression of ospA and ospC in single cells of Borrelia burgdorferi. J Bacteriol 2008; 190:3429-33. [PMID: 18359818 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00085-08] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Outer surface proteins (Osp) A and C of the Lyme disease spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi) are selectively produced and of functional significance in the tick vector and mammalian host, respectively. Some studies indicate a simple, reciprocal relationship where the signals and pathways that turn on ospC also turn off ospA. Other studies indicate a more complex regulation where many spirochetes produce both proteins and others produce one of the proteins or neither protein. Here, we have used flow cytometry to characterize ospA and ospC transcript and protein levels in individual bacterial cells grown in culture. The results support a simple, reciprocal model where, at the level of single cells, the transcription of ospC is linked to the repression of ospA. We also demonstrate that under conditions conducive for OspC production, spirochetes display an "all or none" response, with some cells displaying high levels of ospC transcription and others demonstrating little or no transcription. Despite the reciprocal regulation of ospA and ospC at the single-cell level, we propose that spirochetes display an array of phenotypes due to stochasticity in the pathways that regulate osp expression and the slow turnover of outer surface proteins.
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40
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Pal U, Dai J, Li X, Neelakanta G, Luo P, Kumar M, Wang P, Yang X, Anderson JF, Fikrig E. A differential role for BB0365 in the persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi in mice and ticks. J Infect Dis 2008; 197:148-55. [PMID: 18171298 DOI: 10.1086/523764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, persists in both an arthropod vector and vertebrate hosts, usually wild rodents. Analysis of the B. burgdorferi transcriptome in vivo indicates that the bb0365 gene is markedly induced as spirochetes enter the feeding ticks from infected mice. To understand the importance of the bb0365 gene product in the spirochete life cycle, we inactivated this gene in an infectious isolate of B. burgdorferi B31. BB0365-deficient spirochetes were fully pathogenic in mice and survived in diverse murine tissues. When naive ticks engorged on spirochete-infected mice, the B. burgdorferi bb0365 mutant entered ticks but had a markedly decreased survival rate compared with wild type B. burgdorferi. BB0365 therefore is not necessary for B. burgdorferi persistence in the vertebrate host but is required for survival of the Lyme disease agent within the feeding arthropod vector, and strategies for interfering with this gene may potentially interrupt the B. burgdorferi life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Utpal Pal
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
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41
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Anguita J, Olson CM, Fikrig E. Immune responses to spirochetes. Clin Immunol 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-323-04404-2.10026-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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42
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Pal U, Wang P, Bao F, Yang X, Samanta S, Schoen R, Wormser GP, Schwartz I, Fikrig E. Borrelia burgdorferi basic membrane proteins A and B participate in the genesis of Lyme arthritis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007; 205:133-41. [PMID: 18166585 PMCID: PMC2234379 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20070962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Lyme arthritis results from colonization of joints by Borrelia burgdorferi and the ensuing host response. Using gene array–based differential analysis of B. burgdorferi gene expression and quantitative reverse trancription-polymerase chain reaction, we identified two paralogous spirochete genes, bmpA and bmpB, that are preferentially up-regulated in mouse joints compared with other organs. Transfer of affinity-purified antibodies against either BmpA or BmpB into B. burgdorferi–infected mice selectively reduced spirochete numbers and inflammation in the joints. B. burgdorferi lacking bmpA/B were therefore generated to further explore the role of these proteins in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease. B. burgdorferi lacking bmpA/B were infectious in mice, but unable to persist in the joints, and they failed to induce severe arthritis. Complementation of the mutant spirochetes with a wild-type copy of the bmpA and bmpB genes partially restored the original phenotype. These data delineate a role for differentially produced B. burgdorferi antigens in spirochete colonization of mouse joints, and suggest new strategies for the treatment of Lyme arthritis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Utpal Pal
- Section of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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43
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Caimano MJ, Iyer R, Eggers CH, Gonzalez C, Morton EA, Gilbert MA, Schwartz I, Radolf JD. Analysis of the RpoS regulon in Borrelia burgdorferi in response to mammalian host signals provides insight into RpoS function during the enzootic cycle. Mol Microbiol 2007; 65:1193-217. [PMID: 17645733 PMCID: PMC2967192 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2007.05860.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 210] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) adapts to its arthropod and mammalian hosts by altering its transcriptional and antigenic profiles in response to environmental signals associated with each of these milieus. In studies presented here, we provide evidence to suggest that mammalian host signals are important for modulating and maintaining both the positive and negative aspects of mammalian host adaptation mediated by the alternative sigma factor RpoS in Bb. Although considerable overlap was observed between genes induced by RpoS during growth within the mammalian host and following temperature-shift, comparative microarray analyses demonstrated unequivocally that RpoS-mediated repression requires mammalian host-specific signals. A substantial portion of the in vivo RpoS regulon was uniquely upregulated within dialysis membrane chambers, further underscoring the importance of host-derived environmental stimuli for differential gene expression in Bb. Expression profiling of genes within the RpoS regulon by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) revealed a level of complexity to RpoS-dependent gene regulation beyond that observed by microarray, including a broad range of expression levels and the presence of genes whose expression is only partially dependent on RpoS. Analysis of Bb-infected ticks by qRT-PCR established that expression of rpoS is induced during the nymphal blood meal but not within unfed nymphs or engorged larvae. Together, these data have led us to postulate that RpoS acts as a gatekeeper for the reciprocal regulation of genes involved in the establishment of infection within the mammalian host and the maintenance of spirochetes within the arthropod vector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa J Caimano
- Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA.
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44
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Scheckelhoff MR, Telford SR, Wesley M, Hu LT. Borrelia burgdorferi intercepts host hormonal signals to regulate expression of outer surface protein A. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007; 104:7247-52. [PMID: 17438273 PMCID: PMC1855410 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0607263104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The Borrelia burgdorferi infectious cycle requires that the organism adapt to vast differences in environmental conditions found in its tick and mammalian hosts. Previous studies have shown that B. burgdorferi accomplishes this accommodation in part by regulating expression of its surface proteins. Outer surface protein A (OspA) is a borrelial protein important in colonization of the tick midgut. OspA is up-regulated when the organism is in its tick host and down-regulated when it is in a mammalian host. However, little is known about how it is up-regulated again in a mammalian host in preparation for entry into a feeding tick. Here, we report that the host neuroendocrine stress hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine, are specifically bound by B. burgdorferi and result in increased expression of OspA. This recognition is specific and blocked by competitive inhibitors of human adrenergic receptors. To determine whether recognition of catecholamines, which are likely to be present at the site of a tick bite, may play a role in preparing the organism for reentry into a tick from a mammalian host, we administered a beta-adrenergic blocker, propranolol, to infected mice. Propranolol significantly reduced uptake of B. burgdorferi by feeding ticks and decreased expression of OspA in B. burgdorferi recovered from ticks that fed on propranolol-treated mice. Our studies suggest that B. burgdorferi may co-opt host neuroendocrine signals to inform the organism of local changes that predict the presence of its next host and allow it to prepare for transition to a new environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark R. Scheckelhoff
- *Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tupper Research Institute, Tufts–New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111; and
| | - Sam R. Telford
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, Grafton, MA 01536
| | - Mary Wesley
- *Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tupper Research Institute, Tufts–New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111; and
| | - Linden T. Hu
- *Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tupper Research Institute, Tufts–New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111; and
- To whom correspondence should be addressed at:
Tufts–New England Medical Center, Box 41, 750 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111. E-mail:
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Woodman ME, Cooley AE, Miller JC, Lazarus JJ, Tucker K, Bykowski T, Botto M, Hellwage J, Wooten RM, Stevenson B. Borrelia burgdorferi binding of host complement regulator factor H is not required for efficient mammalian infection. Infect Immun 2007; 75:3131-9. [PMID: 17420242 PMCID: PMC1932899 DOI: 10.1128/iai.01923-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The causative agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, is naturally resistant to its host's alternative pathway of complement-mediated killing. Several different borrelial outer surface proteins have been identified as being able to bind host factor H, a regulator of the alternative pathway, leading to a hypothesis that such binding is important for borrelial resistance to complement. To test this hypothesis, the development of B. burgdorferi infection was compared between factor H-deficient and wild-type mice. Factor B- and C3-deficient mice were also studied to determine the relative roles of the alternative and classical/lectin pathways in B. burgdorferi survival during mammalian infection. While it was predicted that B. burgdorferi should be impaired in its ability to infect factor H-deficient animals, quantitative analyses of bacterial loads indicated that those mice were infected at levels similar to those of wild-type and factor B- and C3-deficient mice. Ticks fed on infected factor H-deficient or wild-type mice all acquired similar numbers of bacteria. Indirect immunofluorescence analysis of B. burgdorferi acquired by feeding ticks from the blood of infected mice indicated that none of the bacteria had detectable levels of factor H on their outer surfaces, even though such bacteria express high levels of surface proteins capable of binding factor H. These findings demonstrate that the acquisition of host factor H is not essential for mammalian infection by B. burgdorferi and indicate that additional mechanisms are employed by the Lyme disease spirochete to evade complement-mediated killing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Woodman
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, MS421 W. R. Willard Medical Education Building, Lexington, KY 40536-0298, USA
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46
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Garg R, Juncadella IJ, Ramamoorthi N, Ashish, Ananthanarayanan SK, Thomas V, Rincón M, Krueger JK, Fikrig E, Yengo CM, Anguita J. Cutting edge: CD4 is the receptor for the tick saliva immunosuppressor, Salp15. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2007; 177:6579-83. [PMID: 17082567 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.177.10.6579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Salp15 is an Ixodes scapularis salivary protein that inhibits CD4+ T cell activation through the repression of TCR ligation-triggered calcium fluxes and IL-2 production. We show in this study that Salp15 binds specifically to the CD4 coreceptor on mammalian host T cells. Salp15 specifically associates through its C-terminal residues with the outermost two extracellular domains of CD4. Upon binding to CD4, Salp15 inhibits the subsequent TCR ligation-induced T cell signaling at the earliest steps including tyrosine phosphorylation of the Src kinase Lck, downstream effector proteins, and lipid raft reorganization. These results provide a molecular basis to understanding the immunosuppressive activity of Salp15 and its specificity for CD4+ T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renu Garg
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
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47
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Hedrick MN, Olson CM, Conze DB, Bates TC, Rincón M, Anguita J. Control of Borrelia burgdorferi-specific CD4+-T-cell effector function by interleukin-12- and T-cell receptor-induced p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase activity. Infect Immun 2006; 74:5713-7. [PMID: 16988247 PMCID: PMC1594917 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00623-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, results in a Th1 response and proinflammatory cytokine production. Mice deficient for MKK3, an upstream activator of p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, develop a lower Th1 response and exhibit an impaired ability to produce proinflammatory cytokines upon infection with the spirochete. We investigated the contribution of p38 MAP kinase activity in gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) production in CD4+ T cells in response to specific antigen through T-cell receptor (TCR)- and interleukin-12 (IL-12)-mediated signals. The specific inhibition of p38 MAP kinase in T cells and the administration of a pharmacological inhibitor of the kinase during the course of infection with the spirochete resulted in reduced levels of IFN-gamma in the sera of infected mice. Our results also demonstrate that although p38 MAP kinase activity is not required for the differentiation of B. burgdorferi-specific CD4+ T cells, the production of IFN-gamma by Th1 effector cells is regulated by the kinase. Both TCR engagement and IL-12 induced the production of the Th1 cytokine through the activation of the p38 MAP kinase pathway. Thus, the inhibition of this pathway in vitro resulted in decreased levels of IFN-gamma during restimulation of B. burgdorferi-specific T cells in response to anti-CD3 and IL-12 stimulation. These results clarify the specific contribution of the p38 MAP kinase in the overall immune response to the spirochete and its role in the effector function of B. burgdorferi-specific T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael N Hedrick
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA
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48
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Olson CM, Hedrick MN, Izadi H, Bates TC, Olivera ER, Anguita J. p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase controls NF-kappaB transcriptional activation and tumor necrosis factor alpha production through RelA phosphorylation mediated by mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase 1 in response to Borrelia burgdorferi antigens. Infect Immun 2006; 75:270-7. [PMID: 17074860 PMCID: PMC1828394 DOI: 10.1128/iai.01412-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The interaction of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, with phagocytic cells induces the activation of NF-kappaB and the expression of proinflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). B. burgdorferi-induced TNF-alpha production is also dependent on the activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. The specific contribution of these signaling pathways to the response of phagocytic cells to the spirochete and the molecular mechanisms underlying this response remain unresolved. We now show that p38 MAP kinase activity regulates the transcriptional activation of NF-kappaB in response to spirochetal lysate stimulation of phagocytic cells. The regulation occurs at the nuclear level and is independent of the translocation of the transcription factor to the nucleus or its capacity to bind to specific DNA target sequences. In RAW264.7 cells, p38alpha MAP kinase regulates the phosphorylation of NF-kappaB RelA. p38 MAP kinase phosphorylates the nuclear kinase mitogen- and stress-activated protein kinase 1 (MSK1). MSK1 in turn phosphorylates the transcriptionally active subunit of NF-kappaB, RelA. The repression of MSK1 expression with small interfering RNA results in reduced RelA phosphorylation and a significant decrease in the production of TNF-alpha in response to B. burgdorferi lysates. Overall, these results clarify the contribution of the signaling pathways that are activated in response to the interaction of spirochetes with phagocytic cells to TNF-alpha production. Our results situate p38 MAP kinase activity as a central regulator of the phagocytic proinflammatory response through MSK1-mediated transcriptional activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris M Olson
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 103 Paige Lab., 161 Holdsworth Way, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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49
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Eggers CH, Caimano MJ, Radolf JD. Sigma factor selectivity in Borrelia burgdorferi: RpoS recognition of the ospE/ospF/elp promoters is dependent on the sequence of the -10 region. Mol Microbiol 2006; 59:1859-75. [PMID: 16553889 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05066.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Members of the ospE/ospF/elp lipoprotein gene families of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent, are transcriptionally upregulated in response to the influx of blood into the midgut of an infected tick. We recently have demonstrated that despite the high degree of similarity between the promoters of the ospF (P(ospF)) and ospE (P(ospE)) genes of B. burgdorferi strain 297, the differential expression of ospF is RpoS-dependent, while ospE is controlled by sigma(70). Herein we used wild-type and RpoS-deficient strains of B. burgdorferi and Escherichia coli to analyse transcriptional reporters consisting of a green fluorescent protein (gfp) gene fused to P(ospF), P(ospE), or two hybrid promoters in which the -10 regions of P(ospF) and P(ospE) were switched [P(ospF ) ((E - 10)) and P(ospE) ((F - 10)) respectively]. We found that the P(ospF)-10 region is both necessary and sufficient for RpoS-dependent recognition in B. burgdorferi, while sigma(70) specificity for P(ospE) is dependent on elements outside of the -10 region. In E. coli, sigma factor selectivity for these promoters was much more permissive, with expression of each being primarily due to sigma(70). Alignment of the sequences upstream of each of the ospE/ospF/elp genes from B. burgdorferi strains 297 and B31 revealed that two B31 ospF paralogues [erpK (BBM38) and erpL (BBO39)] have -10 regions virtually identical to that of P(ospF). Correspondingly, expression of gfp reporters based on the erpK and erpL promoters was RpoS-dependent. Thus, the sequence of the P(ospF)-10 region appears to serve as a motif for RpoS recognition, the first described for any B. burgdorferi promoter. Taken together, our data support the notion that B. burgdorferi utilizes sequence differences at the -10 region as one mechanism for maintaining the transcriptional integrity of RpoS-dependent and -independent genes activated at the onset of tick feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian H Eggers
- Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, 06030, USA.
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50
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Fikrig E, Narasimhan S. Borrelia burgdorferi–Traveling incognito? Microbes Infect 2006; 8:1390-9. [PMID: 16698304 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2005.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2005] [Accepted: 12/26/2005] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
We outline in this review how Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, moves from the tick to the vertebrate host, and what molecules are potentially involved in this challenging commute. The survival strategies utilized by the spirochete during transmission and the initial stages of infection are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erol Fikrig
- Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, Room 525A, 300 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8031, USA.
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