A Borrelia burgdorferi Surface-Exposed Transmembrane Protein Lacking Detectable Immune Responses Supports Pathogen Persistence and Constitutes a Vaccine Target.

Abstract	Borrelia burgdorferi harbors a limited set of transmembrane surface proteins, most of which constitute key targets of humoral immune responses. Here we show that BB0405, a conserved membrane-spanning protein of unknown function, fails to evoke detectable antibody responses despite its extracellular exposure. bb0405 is a member of an operon and ubiquitously expressed throughout the rodent-tick infection cycle. The gene product serves an essential function in vivo, as bb0405-deletion mutants are unable to transmit from ticks and establish infection in mammalian hosts. Despite the lack of BB0405-specific immunoglobulin M or immunoglobulin G antibodies during natural infection, mice immunized with a recombinant version of the protein elicited high-titer and remarkably long-lasting antibody responses, conferring significant host protection against tick-borne infection. Taken together, these studies highlight the essential role of an apparently immune-invisible borrelial transmembrane protein in facilitating infection and its usefulness as a target of protective host immunity blocking the transmission of B. burgdorferi.
Authors	Faith Kung, Simarjot Kaur, Alexis A Smith, Xiuli Yang, Cara N Wilder, Kavita Sharma, Ozlem Buyuktanir, Utpal Pal
Journal	The Journal of infectious diseases (J Infect Dis) Vol. 213 Issue 11 Pg. 1786-95 (06 01 2016) ISSN: 1537-6613 [Electronic] United States
PMID	26747708 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
Copyright	© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail [email protected].
Chemical References	Antibodies, Bacterial BB0405 protein, Borrelia burgdorferi Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins Lyme Disease Vaccines
Topics	Animals Antibodies, Bacterial (immunology) Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins (biosynthesis, genetics, immunology) Borrelia burgdorferi (genetics, immunology) Drug Delivery Systems Female Immunity, Humoral Immunogenicity, Vaccine Lyme Disease (immunology, microbiology, pathology, prevention & control) Lyme Disease Vaccines (immunology) Mice, Inbred C3H Mutagenesis

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