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Jorge FR, Muñoz-Leal S, de Oliveira GMB, Serpa MCA, Magalhães MML, de Oliveira LMB, Moura FBP, Teixeira BM, Labruna MB. Novel Borrelia Genotypes from Brazil Indicate a New Group of Borrelia spp. Associated with South American Bats. J Med Entomol 2023; 60:213-217. [PMID: 36269279 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjac160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The bacterial genus Borrelia comprises vector-borne spirochetes that have been classified into three major groups: the relapsing fever group (RFG), the Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner sensu lato group (Bbsl), and the reptile-monotreme group (RMG). All three groups have been associated mainly with ticks and wild animals, especially rodents, birds, and reptiles. Here, we searched for Borrelia infection among 99 vampire bats [Desmodus rotundus (É. Geoffroy)] (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from the Brazilian semiarid region. Through molecular investigation of bat internal organs, haplotypes of a potentially novel Borrelia organism were detected in 5% (5/99) of the bats. Borrelia DNA was detected in the liver, blood, spleen, kidney and brain, suggesting a systemic infection. Phylogenetic analyses inferred from partial sequences of the borrelial rrs and flaB genes indicated that the vampire bat-associated Borrelia sp. of this study form a monophyletic group with a newly reported Borrelia associated with a Colombia bat, distinct from the three main currently recognized groups of Borrelia spp., Bbsl, RFG, and RMG. These novel bat-associated Borrelia spp. from South America might have arisen through an independent event along the borrelial evolutionary history, since previous molecular reports of Borrelia organisms in bats or bat-associated ticks from Africa, Europe, and North America were all classified in the RFG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe R Jorge
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil
- PostGraduate Program in Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, State University of Ceará - Av. Dr. Silas Munguba, 1700 - Itaperi, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Sebastián Muñoz-Leal
- Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad de Concepción, Av. Vicente Méndez 595, casilla 537, Chillán, Ñuble, Chile
| | - Glauber M B de Oliveira
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil
| | - Maria Carolina A Serpa
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil
| | - Meylling M L Magalhães
- PostGraduate Program in Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, State University of Ceará - Av. Dr. Silas Munguba, 1700 - Itaperi, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, INTA University Center - UNINTA, R. Antônio Rodrigues Magalhães, 359 - Dom Expedito, Sobral, CE, Brazil
| | - Lorena M B de Oliveira
- PostGraduate Program in Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, State University of Ceará - Av. Dr. Silas Munguba, 1700 - Itaperi, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Francisco B P Moura
- Department of Anthropozoonoses, Department of Health of Ceará, Av. Almirante Barroso, 600 - Praia de Iracema, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
| | - Bruno M Teixeira
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, INTA University Center - UNINTA, R. Antônio Rodrigues Magalhães, 359 - Dom Expedito, Sobral, CE, Brazil
| | - Marcelo B Labruna
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Av. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil
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Guellil M, Kersten O, Namouchi A, Bauer EL, Derrick M, Jensen AØ, Stenseth NC, Bramanti B. Genomic blueprint of a relapsing fever pathogen in 15th century Scandinavia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:10422-10427. [PMID: 30249639 PMCID: PMC6187149 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1807266115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF) is known to have killed millions of people over the course of European history and remains a major cause of mortality in parts of the world. Its pathogen, Borrelia recurrentis, shares a common vector with global killers such as typhus and plague and is known for its involvement in devastating historical epidemics such as the Irish potato famine. Here, we describe a European and historical genome of Brecurrentis, recovered from a 15th century skeleton from Oslo. Our distinct European lineage has a discrete genomic makeup, displaying an ancestral oppA-1 gene and gene loss in antigenic variation sites. Our results illustrate the potential of ancient DNA research to elucidate dynamics of reductive evolution in a specialized human pathogen and to uncover aspects of human health usually invisible to the archaeological record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meriam Guellil
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway;
| | - Oliver Kersten
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Amine Namouchi
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Egil L Bauer
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, N-0155 Oslo, Norway
| | - Michael Derrick
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, N-0155 Oslo, Norway
| | - Anne Ø Jensen
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, N-0155 Oslo, Norway
| | - Nils C Stenseth
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway;
| | - Barbara Bramanti
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway;
- Department of Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Prevention, University of Ferrara, 35-441221 Ferrara, Italy
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Raffel SJ, Battisti JM, Fischer RJ, Schwan TG. Inactivation of genes for antigenic variation in the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia hermsii reduces infectivity in mice and transmission by ticks. PLoS Pathog 2014; 10:e1004056. [PMID: 24699793 PMCID: PMC3974855 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2014] [Accepted: 02/24/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia hermsii, a causative agent of relapsing fever of humans in western North America, is maintained in enzootic cycles that include small mammals and the tick vector Ornithodoros hermsi. In mammals, the spirochetes repeatedly evade the host's acquired immune response by undergoing antigenic variation of the variable major proteins (Vmps) produced on their outer surface. This mechanism prolongs spirochete circulation in blood, which increases the potential for acquisition by fast-feeding ticks and therefore perpetuation of the spirochete in nature. Antigenic variation also underlies the relapsing disease observed when humans are infected. However, most spirochetes switch off the bloodstream Vmp and produce a different outer surface protein, the variable tick protein (Vtp), during persistent infection in the tick salivary glands. Thus the production of Vmps in mammalian blood versus Vtp in ticks is a dominant feature of the spirochete's alternating life cycle. We constructed two mutants, one which was unable to produce a Vmp and the other was unable to produce Vtp. The mutant lacking a Vmp constitutively produced Vtp, was attenuated in mice, produced lower cell densities in blood, and was unable to relapse in animals after its initial spirochetemia. This mutant also colonized ticks and was infectious by tick-bite, but remained attenuated compared to wild-type and reconstituted spirochetes. The mutant lacking Vtp also colonized ticks but produced neither Vtp nor a Vmp in tick salivary glands, which rendered the spirochete noninfectious by tick bite. Thus the ability of B. hermsii to produce Vmps prolonged its survival in blood, while the synthesis of Vtp was essential for mammalian infection by the bite of its tick vector.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra J. Raffel
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - James M. Battisti
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America
| | - Robert J. Fischer
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
| | - Tom G. Schwan
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
Relapsing fever Borrelia spp. undergo antigenic variation, achieve high levels in blood, and require rapid production of immunoglobulin M (IgM) for clearance. MyD88-deficient mice display defective clearance of many pathogens; however, the IgM response to persistent infection is essentially normal. Therefore, MyD88(-/-) mice provided a unique opportunity to study the effect of nonantibody, innate host defenses to relapsing fever Borrelia. Infected MyD88(-/-) mice harbored extremely high levels of B. hermsii in the blood compared to wild-type littermates. In the comparison of MyD88(-/-) mice and B- and T-cell-deficient scid mice, two features stood out: (i) bacterial numbers in blood were at least 10-fold greater in MyD88(-/-) mice than scid mice, even though the production of IgM still occurred in MyD88(-/-) mice; and (ii) many of the MyD88(-/-) mice were able to exert partial clearance, although with delayed kinetics relative to wild-type mice, a feature not seen in scid mice. Further analysis revealed a delay in the IgM response to lipoproteins expressed by the original inoculum; however, by 6 days of infection antibodies were produced in MyD88(-/-) mice that could clear spirochetemia in scid mice. While these results indicated that the production of IgM was delayed in MyD88(-/-) mice, they also point to a second, antibody-independent role for MyD88 signaling in host defense to relapsing fever Borrelia. This second defect was apparent only when antibody levels were limiting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devin D Bolz
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah, 15 North Medical Drive East #2100, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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Abstract
UNLABELLED Other than familial mediterranean fever: Four hereditary diseases presenting in the form of intermittent inflammatory flares are now recognized and have been characterised clinically and genetically. At the head of this group is Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), which affects thousands of patients originating from the Mediterranean area. However the familial Mediterranean Fever is no longer the only recurrent hereditary inflammatory disease. Three other entities have now been clearly defined: intermittent fever secondary to mutations in the type 1A Tumour Necrosis Factor receptor (TNF), of dominant autosomic genetic transmission, the hyperimmunoglobulinemia D syndrome and an entity regrouping the Muckle Wells syndrome, familial cold-induced urticaria, and the Chronic Infantile Neurological Cutaneous and Articular (CINCA) syndrome. IN PRACTICE Because they require specific management and treatment, precise diagnosis of these entities is crucial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Grateau
- Service de médecine interne, Hôtel-Dieu, Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris.
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Alugupalli KR, Gerstein RM, Chen J, Szomolanyi-Tsuda E, Woodland RT, Leong JM. The resolution of relapsing fever borreliosis requires IgM and is concurrent with expansion of B1b lymphocytes. J Immunol 2003; 170:3819-27. [PMID: 12646649 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.170.7.3819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The rate of pathogen clearance is a critical determinant of morbidity and mortality. We sought to characterize the immune response responsible for the remarkably rapid clearance of individual episodes of bacteremia caused by the relapsing fever bacterium, Borrelia hermsii. SCID or Rag(-/-) mice were incapable of resolving B. hermsii infection, indicating a critical role for T and/or B cells. TCR(-/-) mice, which lack T cells, and IL-7(-/-) mice, which are deficient in both T cells and follicular B cells, but not in B1 cells and splenic marginal zone (MZ) B cells, efficiently cleared B. hermsii. These findings suggested that B1 cells and/or MZ B cells, two B cell subsets that are known to participate in rapid, T-independent responses, might be involved. The efficient resolution of the episodes of moderate level bacteremia by splenectomized mice suggested that MZ B cells do not play the primary role in clearance of this bacterium. In contrast, xid mice, which are deficient in B1 cells, suffered more severe episodes of bacteremia than wild-type mice. The hypothesis that B1 cells are critical for clearance of B. hermsii was further supported by a selective expansion of the B1b (i.e., IgM(high), IgD(-/low), Mac1(+) CD23(-), and CD5(-)) cell subset in infected xid mice, which coincided with the eventual resolution of infection. Finally, mice selectively incapable of secreting IgM, the dominant isotype produced by B1 cells, were completely unable to clear B. hermsii. Together these results support the model that B1b cells generate the T-independent IgM required for the control and resolution of relapsing fever borreliosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kishore R Alugupalli
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA.
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