Characterization of a 30-kDa Borrelia burgdorferi substrate-binding protein homologue.
A Borrelia burgdorferi chromosomal gene encodes a 30-kDa antigen (P30) that has considerable homology with periplasmic substrate-binding proteins of Gram-negative bacteria, and is recognized by antibodies in sera from a subset of patients with Lyme disease and from B. burgdorferi-infected mice. The p30 gene is 801 nucleotides in length and P30 contains 267 amino acids, with a predicted molecular mass of 30 kDa. The P30 amino acid region 36-258 has homology to conserved domains of the oligopeptide permease A of Gram-negative bacteria. Immunofluorescence studies using murine anti-P30 serum suggest that P30 is on the outer surface of B. burgdorferi. P30 expression could be detected in representatives of all 3 subspecies of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, but not in all of the tested strains. Antibodies to P30 were detected in sera of 18 out of 82 patients (22%) with Lyme disease, including individuals with early- or late-stage infection. Although antibodies to P30 are present in the sera of C3H/HeN mice infected with B. burgdorferi for at least 90 days, immunization with recombinant P30 does not protect mice from infection. We conclude that P30 is a putative substrate-binding protein of B. burgdorferi and is immunologically recognized in human and murine Lyme borreliosis.
Das
S
S
Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8031, USA.
Shraga
D
D
Gannon
C
C
Lam
T T
TT
Feng
S
S
Brunet
L R
LR
Telford
S R
SR
Barthold
S W
SW
Flavell
R A
RA
Fikrig
E
E
D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000276:immunology; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D000906:Antibodies; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins