Fikrig Erol, Pal Utpal, Chen Manchuan, Anderson John F, Flavell Richard A
Section of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine. Section of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
Infect Immun. 2004 Mar;72(3):1755-9. doi: 10.1128/IAI.72.3.1755-1759.2004.
Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface protein OspB is expressed by spirochetes in the Ixodes scapularis gut. ospB is transcribed from a bicistronic operon with ospA, a known spirochete adhesion gene in the tick gut. Here we examine whether OspB also has a specific function in ticks. OspB specifically binds to a protein or protein complex within the tick gut. We also assessed whether selected nonborreliacidal OspB antibodies or F(ab)(2) fragments interfere with B. burgdorferi-tick attachment in vivo. We examined engorged ticks that fed on B. burgdorferi N40-infected scid mice that had been treated with OspB F(ab)(2) fragments. Control F(ab)(2) fragments did not interfere with B. burgdorferi colonization of the tick gut, whereas OspB F(ab)(2) fragments significantly inhibited the attachment of spirochetes to the tick gut. These studies show that nonbactericidal OspB antibodies interfere with B. burgdorferi colonization of I. scapularis, highlighting a specific role for OspB in spirochete- arthropod interactions and suggesting new antibody-mediated strategies for interfering with B. burgdorferi transmission.
伯氏疏螺旋体外膜蛋白OspB由肩突硬蜱肠道中的螺旋体表达。ospB与ospA从一个双顺反子操纵子转录而来，ospA是蜱肠道中一个已知的螺旋体粘附基因。在此，我们研究OspB在蜱中是否也具有特定功能。OspB特异性结合蜱肠道内的一种蛋白质或蛋白质复合物。我们还评估了选定的非杀螺旋体OspB抗体或F(ab)(2)片段在体内是否会干扰伯氏疏螺旋体与蜱的附着。我们检查了以经OspB F(ab)(2)片段处理的感染伯氏疏螺旋体N40的重度联合免疫缺陷小鼠为食的饱血蜱。对照F(ab)(2)片段不干扰蜱肠道内伯氏疏螺旋体的定殖，而OspB F(ab)(2)片段显著抑制螺旋体附着于蜱肠道。这些研究表明，非杀菌性OspB抗体干扰伯氏疏螺旋体在肩突硬蜱中的定殖，突出了OspB在螺旋体-节肢动物相互作用中的特定作用，并提示了干扰伯氏疏螺旋体传播的新的抗体介导策略。
