title: Acylated cholesteryl galactoside as a novel immunogenic motif in Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto.
abstract: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is the causing agent of Lyme disease, an infectious disease frequently occurring in the United States, Europe, and Northern Asia. Currently, diagnosis of and vaccination strategies against this pathogen are exclusively based on proteinaceous structures. Here we report on a novel class of immunogenic glycolipids purified from B. burgdorferi sensu stricto B31. Employing a butanol/water extraction procedure with subsequent Bligh/Dyer extraction of the organic phase, thin layer chromatography analysis revealed the presence of three distinct glycolipids, which were chemically analyzed employing combined gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, and NMR. We identified acylated cholesteryl galactoside (ACG) next to cholesteryl galactoside and alpha-monogalactosyl-diacylglycerol. After extensive purification, the glycolipids investigated failed to cause proinflammatory responses in human cells transfected with human toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 or -4. However, we observed a marked recognition of ACG by sera derived from patients suffering from Lyme disease. These data indicate that newly described ACG is involved in developing host immunity during Lyme disease and thus may be useful for diagnosis and vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Dorotheenstrasse 96, D-10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Nicolas W J
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schombel
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Heine
authors.forename: Ulf B
authors.initials: UB
authors.lastname: Göbel
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Zähringer
authors.forename: Ralf R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Schumann
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000097:blood; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008956:Models, Chemical; D012503:Saponins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D006017:Glycolipids; D012503:Saponins