title: Antibody response to OspC-I synthetic peptide derived from outer surface protein C of Borrelia burgdorferi in sera from Japanese forestry workers.
abstract: The prevalence of antibodies against Lyme disease spirochaetes in serum samples from 80 forestry workers at high occupational risk of Lyme disease was surveyed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the OspC-I synthetic peptide. The peptide is part of the outer surface protein C (OspC) amino acid sequence located in the region conserved among Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto or sensu lato. Positivity for antibodies against OspC-I was observed in 25 (313%) of the forestry workers. Of these positive cases, 12 (15.0%) and 19 (23.8%) were positive for immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibody, respectively. Among 62 workers who were negative for IgG antibody against B. garinii or B. japonica in our previous study, 9 (14.5%) and 4 (6.5%) were positive for IgM and IgG antibody, respectively, in OspC-I ELISA. These results demonstrate for the first time that Lyme disease in forestry workers can be revealed using OspC-I ELISA. We conclude that forestry workers who show positive results for antibodies against OspC-I have very likely been exposed to Lyme disease spirochaetes, and that those who show positivity for IgM antibody against OspC-I may be in the early stage of Lyme disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Microbiology, Saitama Institute of Public Health, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikushima
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawahashi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okuyama
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsui
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016468:Forestry; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; C079616:OspC protein