title: Genetic and immunological analyses of Vls (VMP-like sequences) of Borrelia burgdorferi.
abstract: DNA fragments containing the VMP-like sequence (Vls) were cloned from Borrelia burgdorferi strain 297. Analyses by PCR, PFGE, and Southern hybridization revealed that the Vls sequences existed in multi-copies on the 20-kb borrelial plasmid, but not on chromosomes or other plasmids. One Vls unit of the strain 297 was about 669 bases, and predicted peptides length was 223 amino acids. Homologues of the Vls fragment were detected in three B. burgdorferi strains, a B. garinii strain 20047, and a B. afzelii strain P/Gau. A recombinant VlsII protein prepared in Escherichia coli strain JM109 reacted with antibodies that existed in three of five patients, by immunoblotting. These results suggested that the Vls of B. burgdorferi is expressed in Lyme disease patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (Former NIH), 1-23-1 Toyama, Tokyo, Shinjyuku-ku, 162, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Myouga
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inagaki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001898:Borrelia / Q000235:genetics; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D018628:Gene Dosage; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C112064:VlsII protein, Borrelia burgdorferi