Immunological and genetic characterization of Borrelia burgdorferi BapA and EppA proteins.
A large majority of examined Lyme disease spirochaete isolates were demonstrated to contain one or both of the paralogous genes bapA and eppA. Immunological analyses of serum samples collected from infected patients coupled with comparative sequence analyses indicated that bapA gene sequences are quite stable but the encoded proteins do not provoke a strong immune response in most individuals. Conversely, EppA proteins are much more antigenic but vary widely in sequence between different bacteria. Considerable evidence of insertion, deletion and other mutations within eppA genes was observed. A number of significant recombination events were also found to have occurred in regions flanking bapA genes, while the genes themselves rarely exhibited evidence of mutation, suggesting strong selective pressure to maintain BapA sequences within narrow limits. Data from these and other studies suggest important roles for BapA and EppA during the Borrelia burgdorferi infectious cycle.
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, MS 415 Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0298, USA.
Jennifer C
JC
Miller
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, MS 415 Chandler Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0298, USA.
Brian
B
Stevenson
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C475954:BapA protein, Borrelia burgdorferi; C087866:EppA protein, Borrelia burgdorferi; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins