Stübs Gunthard, Fingerle Volker, Wilske Bettina, Göbel Ulf B, Zähringer Ulrich, Schumann Ralf R, Schröder Nicolas W J
Institute for Microbiology and Hygiene, Charité Medical Center, 10117 Berlin.
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleissheim 85764.
J Biol Chem. 2009 May 15;284(20):13326-13334. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M809575200. Epub 2009 Mar 23.
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is the causative agent of Lyme disease (LD), an infectious disease occurring in North America, Europe, and Asia in different clinical stages. B. burgdorferi sensu lato encompasses at least 12 species, with B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii, and B. afzelii being of highest clinical importance. Immunologic testing for LD as well as recent vaccination strategies exclusively refer to proteinaceous antigens. However, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto exhibits glycolipid antigens, including 6-O-acylated cholesteryl beta-D-galactopyranoside (ACGal), and first the data indicated that this compound may act as an immunogen. Here we investigated whether B. garinii and B. afzelii also possess this antigen, and whether antibodies directed against these compounds are abundant among patients suffering from different stages of LD. Gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy and NMR spectroscopy showed that both B. garinii and B. afzelii exhibit ACGal in high quantities. In contrast, B. hermsii causing relapsing fever features 6-O-acylated cholesteryl beta-D-glucopyranoside (ACGlc). Sera derived from patients diagnosed for LD contained antibodies against ACGal, with 80% of patients suffering from late stage disease exhibiting this feature. Antibodies reacted with ACGal from all three B. burgdorferi species tested, but not with ACGlc from B. hermsii. These data show that ACGal is present in all clinically important B. burgdorferi species, and that specific antibodies against this compound are frequently found during LD. ACGal may thus be an interesting tool for improving diagnostics as well as for novel vaccination strategies.
伯氏疏螺旋体复合群是莱姆病（LD）的病原体，莱姆病是一种在北美、欧洲和亚洲呈现不同临床阶段的传染病。伯氏疏螺旋体复合群至少包含12个种，其中狭义伯氏疏螺旋体、伽氏疏螺旋体和阿氏疏螺旋体具有最高的临床重要性。针对莱姆病的免疫检测以及近期的疫苗接种策略仅涉及蛋白质抗原。然而，狭义伯氏疏螺旋体呈现糖脂抗原，包括6 - O - 酰化胆固醇β - D - 吡喃半乳糖苷（ACGal），首先有数据表明该化合物可能作为一种免疫原。在此我们研究了伽氏疏螺旋体和阿氏疏螺旋体是否也具有这种抗原，以及针对这些化合物的抗体在患有不同阶段莱姆病的患者中是否丰富。气 - 液色谱/质谱和核磁共振光谱显示伽氏疏螺旋体和阿氏疏螺旋体均大量呈现ACGal。相比之下，引起回归热的赫氏疏螺旋体具有6 - O - 酰化胆固醇β - D - 吡喃葡萄糖苷（ACGlc）。来自被诊断为莱姆病患者的血清含有针对ACGal 的抗体，80%处于疾病晚期的患者呈现此特征。抗体与所测试的所有三种伯氏疏螺旋体的ACGal 发生反应，但不与赫氏疏螺旋体的ACGlc 发生反应。这些数据表明ACGal 存在于所有具有临床重要性的伯氏疏螺旋体种中，并且在莱姆病期间经常发现针对该化合物的特异性抗体。因此，ACGal 可能是用于改进诊断以及新型疫苗接种策略的一个有趣工具。
