Sequence analysis and serological responses against Borrelia turicatae BipA, a putative species-specific antigen.
BACKGROUND: Relapsing fever spirochetes are global yet neglected pathogens causing recurrent febrile episodes, chills, nausea, vomiting, and pregnancy complications. Given these nonspecific clinical manifestations, improving diagnostic assays for relapsing fever spirochetes will allow for identifica...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fcbd990451a24890a6633c0be8659877 2023-05-15T15:11:55+02:00 Sequence analysis and serological responses against Borrelia turicatae BipA, a putative species-specific antigen. Job E Lopez Hannah K Wilder William Boyle L Brock Drumheller Justin A Thornton Bridget Willeford Timothy W Morgan Andrea Varela-Stokes 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002454 https://doaj.org/article/fcbd990451a24890a6633c0be8659877 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3777926?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0002454 https://doaj.org/article/fcbd990451a24890a6633c0be8659877 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e2454 (2013) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002454 2022-12-31T10:46:02Z BACKGROUND: Relapsing fever spirochetes are global yet neglected pathogens causing recurrent febrile episodes, chills, nausea, vomiting, and pregnancy complications. Given these nonspecific clinical manifestations, improving diagnostic assays for relapsing fever spirochetes will allow for identification of endemic foci and expedite proper treatment. Previously, an antigen designated the Borrelia immunogenic protein A (BipA) was identified in the North American species Borrelia hermsii. Thus far, BipA appears unique to relapsing fever spirochetes. The antigen remains unidentified outside of these pathogens, while interspecies amino acid identity for BipA in relapsing fever spirochetes is only 24-36%. The current study investigated the immunogenicity of BipA in Borrelia turicatae, a species distributed in the southern United States and Latin America. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: bipA was amplified from six isolates of Borrelia turicatae, and sequence analysis demonstrated that the gene is conserved among isolates. A tick transmission system was developed for B. turicatae in mice and a canine, two likely vertebrate hosts, which enabled the evaluation of serological responses against recombinant BipA (rBipA). These studies indicated that BipA is antigenic in both animal systems after infection by tick bite, yet serum antibodies failed to bind to B. hermsii rBipA at a detectable level. Moreover, mice continued to generate an antibody response against BipA one year after the initial infection, further demonstrating the protein's potential toward identifying endemic foci for B. turicatae. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These initial studies support the hypothesis that BipA is a spirochete antigen unique to a relapsing fever Borrelia species, and could be used to improve efforts for identifying B. turicatae endemic regions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 7 9 e2454 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Job E Lopez Hannah K Wilder William Boyle L Brock Drumheller Justin A Thornton Bridget Willeford Timothy W Morgan Andrea Varela-Stokes Sequence analysis and serological responses against Borrelia turicatae BipA, a putative species-specific antigen. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND: Relapsing fever spirochetes are global yet neglected pathogens causing recurrent febrile episodes, chills, nausea, vomiting, and pregnancy complications. Given these nonspecific clinical manifestations, improving diagnostic assays for relapsing fever spirochetes will allow for identification of endemic foci and expedite proper treatment. Previously, an antigen designated the Borrelia immunogenic protein A (BipA) was identified in the North American species Borrelia hermsii. Thus far, BipA appears unique to relapsing fever spirochetes. The antigen remains unidentified outside of these pathogens, while interspecies amino acid identity for BipA in relapsing fever spirochetes is only 24-36%. The current study investigated the immunogenicity of BipA in Borrelia turicatae, a species distributed in the southern United States and Latin America. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: bipA was amplified from six isolates of Borrelia turicatae, and sequence analysis demonstrated that the gene is conserved among isolates. A tick transmission system was developed for B. turicatae in mice and a canine, two likely vertebrate hosts, which enabled the evaluation of serological responses against recombinant BipA (rBipA). These studies indicated that BipA is antigenic in both animal systems after infection by tick bite, yet serum antibodies failed to bind to B. hermsii rBipA at a detectable level. Moreover, mice continued to generate an antibody response against BipA one year after the initial infection, further demonstrating the protein's potential toward identifying endemic foci for B. turicatae. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These initial studies support the hypothesis that BipA is a spirochete antigen unique to a relapsing fever Borrelia species, and could be used to improve efforts for identifying B. turicatae endemic regions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Job E Lopez Hannah K Wilder William Boyle L Brock Drumheller Justin A Thornton Bridget Willeford Timothy W Morgan Andrea Varela-Stokes |
author_facet |
Job E Lopez Hannah K Wilder William Boyle L Brock Drumheller Justin A Thornton Bridget Willeford Timothy W Morgan Andrea Varela-Stokes |
author_sort |
Job E Lopez |
title |
Sequence analysis and serological responses against Borrelia turicatae BipA, a putative species-specific antigen. |
title_short |
Sequence analysis and serological responses against Borrelia turicatae BipA, a putative species-specific antigen. |
title_full |
Sequence analysis and serological responses against Borrelia turicatae BipA, a putative species-specific antigen. |
title_fullStr |
Sequence analysis and serological responses against Borrelia turicatae BipA, a putative species-specific antigen. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sequence analysis and serological responses against Borrelia turicatae BipA, a putative species-specific antigen. |
title_sort |
sequence analysis and serological responses against borrelia turicatae bipa, a putative species-specific antigen. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002454 https://doaj.org/article/fcbd990451a24890a6633c0be8659877 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e2454 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3777926?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0002454 https://doaj.org/article/fcbd990451a24890a6633c0be8659877 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002454 |
container_title |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
e2454 |
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1766342696511733760 |