BORRELIA-BURGDORFERI ERP PROTEINS ARE IMMUNOGENIC IN MAMMALS INFECTEDBY TICK BITE, AND THEIR SYNTHESIS IS INDUCIBLE IN CULTURED BACTERIA

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, can contain multiple genes encoding different members of the Erp lipoprotein fami ly. Some arthropod-borne bacteria increase the synthesis of proteins r equired for transmission or mammalian infection when cultures are shif ted from cool, ambient air temperature to a warmer, blood temperature. We found that all of the erp genes known to be encoded by infectious isolate B31 were differentially expressed in culture after a change in temperature, with greater amounts of message being produced by bacter ia shifted fi om 23 to 35 degrees C than in those maintained at 23 deg rees C. Mice infected with B31 by tick bite produced antibodies that r ecognized each of the Erp proteins within 4 weeks of infection, sugges ting that the Erp proteins are produced by the bacteria during the ear ly stages of mammalian infection and may play roles in transmission fr om ticks to mammals. Several of the B31 Erp proteins were also recogni zed by antibodies from patients with Lyme disease and may prove to be useful antigens for diagnostic testing or as components of a protectiv e vaccine.