Craft J E, Fischer D K, Shimamoto G T, Steere A C
J Clin Invest. 1986 Oct;78(4):934-9. doi: 10.1172/JCI112683.
Using immunoblots, we identified proteins of Borrelia burgdorferi bound by IgM and IgG antibodies during Lyme disease. In 12 patients with early disease alone, both the IgM and IgG responses were restricted primarily to a 41-kD antigen. This limited response disappeared within several months. In contrast, among six patients with prolonged illness, the IgM response to the 41-kD protein sometimes persisted for months to years, and late in the illness during arthritis, a new IgM response sometimes developed to a 34-kD component of the organism. The IgG response in these patients appeared in a characteristic sequential pattern over months to years to as many as 11 spirochetal antigens. The appearance of a new IgM response and the expansion of the IgG response late in the illness, and the lack of such responses in patients with early disease alone, suggest that B. burgdorferi remains alive throughout the illness.
通过免疫印迹法，我们鉴定了莱姆病期间被IgM和IgG抗体结合的伯氏疏螺旋体蛋白。在仅患有早期疾病的12名患者中，IgM和IgG反应主要局限于一种41-kD抗原。这种有限的反应在几个月内消失。相比之下，在6名病程较长的患者中，对41-kD蛋白的IgM反应有时持续数月至数年，并且在疾病后期关节炎期间，有时会出现针对该生物体34-kD成分的新IgM反应。这些患者的IgG反应在数月至数年的时间里以特征性的顺序模式出现，针对多达11种螺旋体抗原。疾病后期新IgM反应的出现和IgG反应的扩展，以及仅患有早期疾病的患者缺乏此类反应，表明伯氏疏螺旋体在整个疾病过程中都存活。
