Rapid clearance of Lyme disease spirochetes lacking OspC from skin.
We previously demonstrated that Borrelia burgdorferi requires OspC to colonize a mammalian host. To delineate this requirement, we analyzed the clearance of ospC mutant spirochetes and found that they were eliminated within 48 h. We conclude that B. burgdorferi uses OspC to resist innate host defenses immediately after transmission.
Tilly
Kit
K
Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA. ktilly@niaid.nih.gov
Bestor
Aaron
A
Jewett
Mollie W
MW
Rosa
Patricia
P
D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D017192:Skin Diseases, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; C079616:OspC protein