Nanoscopic Localization of Surface-Exposed Antigens of Borrelia burgdorferi.
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Ixodes spp. ticks. Successful infection of vertebrate hosts necessitates sophisticated means of the pathogen to escape the vertebrates' immune system. One strategy employed by Lyme disease spirochetes to evade adaptive immunity involves a highly coordinated regulation of the expression of outer surface proteins that is vital for infection, dissemination, and persistence. Here we characterized the expression pattern of bacterial surface antigens using different microscopy techniques, from fluorescent wide field to super-resolution and immunogold-scanning electron microscopy. A fluorescent strain of B. burgdorferi spirochetes was labeled with monoclonal antibodies directed against various bacterial surface antigens. Our results indicate that OspA is more evenly distributed over the surface than OspB and OspC that were present as punctate areas.
1Department of Infectious Diseases - Parasitology,Im Neuenheimer Feld 324,University of Heidelberg Medical School,69120, Heidelberg,Germany.
Leandro
L
Lemgruber
2Laboratory of Microscopy for Life Sciences,Diretoria de Metrologia Aplicada às Ciências da Vida - Dimav,Instituto Nacional de Metrologia,Qualidade e Tecnologia - Inmetro,25250-020,Duque de Caxias,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil.
Celso
C
Sant'Anna
4Gene Expression and Biophysics Group,Synthetic Biology Emerging Research Area,Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,Box 395,Pretoria 0001S,South Africa.
Caron
C
Griffths
2Laboratory of Microscopy for Life Sciences,Diretoria de Metrologia Aplicada às Ciências da Vida - Dimav,Instituto Nacional de Metrologia,Qualidade e Tecnologia - Inmetro,25250-020,Duque de Caxias,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil.
Yuri
Y
Abud
4Gene Expression and Biophysics Group,Synthetic Biology Emerging Research Area,Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,Box 395,Pretoria 0001S,South Africa.
Musa
M
Mhlanga
5Institute for Immunology,Im Neuenheimer Feld 305,University of Heidelberg Medical School,69120,Heidelberg,Germany.
Reinhard
R
Wallich
1Department of Infectious Diseases - Parasitology,Im Neuenheimer Feld 324,University of Heidelberg Medical School,69120, Heidelberg,Germany.
Friedrich
F
Frischknecht
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000378:metabolism; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000737:chemistry*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D008853:Microscopy
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D008565:Membrane Proteins
immunoSEM; immunolabeling; spirochete; super-resolution microscopy