title: Identification of a Borrelia burgdorferi OspA T cell epitope that promotes anti-OspA IgG in mice.
abstract: Lyme disease, due to infection with the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is a multisystem disorder that can lead to chronic disabling symptoms. Abs to the outer surface protein A (OspA) of B. burgdorferi provide protection against infection, and OspA is now the basis of a first generation recombinant vaccine undergoing phase III efficacy studies. Recent studies have suggested that T cells reactive with N-terminal epitopes in OspA could contribute to the development of treatment-resistant Lyme arthritis. In the present studies, we use the murine model of Lyme borreliosis to define an OspA T cell epitope located in the carboxyl terminus that accelerates anti-OspA IgG production after infection. In addition, we show that this T cell epitope is elicited by immunization with rOspA or with a truncated form of OspA that contains the B cell epitope targeted by protective OspA mAb. Polyclonal antisera to the truncated OspA fragment can protect mice from challenge infection. These results are the first demonstration of a B. burgdorferi-specific peptide that elicits a biologically important T cell response in vivo and have implications for the design of a second generation OspA-based subunit vaccine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Bockenstedt
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fikrig
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Barthold
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Flavell
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Kantor
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000276:immunology*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D005260:Female; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008074:Lipoproteins; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D008074:Lipoproteins; C072045:OspA protein; D010455:Peptides; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; D015847:Interleukin-4