Molecular Adaptation of Borrelia burgdorferi in the Murine Host
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 15 July 2002
- journal article
- Published by Rockefeller University Press in The Journal of Experimental Medicine
- Vol. 196 (2) , 275-280
- https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20020770
Abstract
An analysis of expression of 137 lipoprotein genes on the course of murine infection revealed a two-step molecular adaptation by Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete. For the first step, regardless whether the initial inocula of B. burgdorferi expressed either all (cultured spirochetes) or less than 40 (host-adapted spirochetes) of the 137 lipoprotein genes, the spirochetes were modulated to transcribe 116 of the genes within 10 d after being introduced to the murine host. This step of adaptation was induced by the microenvironment of the host tissue. During the second step, which was forced by host immune selection pressure and occurred between 17 and 30 d after infection, B. burgdorferi down-regulated most of the lipoprotein genes and expressed less than 40 of the 137 genes. This novel adaptation mechanism could be a critical step for B. burgdorferi to proceed to chronic infection, as the pathogen would be cleared at the early stage of infection if the spirochetes failed to undergo this process.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- DNA Microarray Assessment of Putative Borrelia burgdorferi Lipoprotein GenesInfection and Immunity, 2002
- An Immune Evasion Mechanism for Spirochetal Persistence in Lyme BorreliosisThe Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2002
- Influence of Cultivation Media on Genetic Regulatory Patterns in Borrelia burgdorferiInfection and Immunity, 2001
- Distinct Regulatory Pathways Control Expression of Borrelia burgdorferi Infection-Associated OspC and Erp Surface ProteinsInfection and Immunity, 2001
- Borrelia burgdorferi Proteins Whose Expression Is Similarly Affected by Culture Temperature and pHInfection and Immunity, 2001
- Evidence for Vaccine Synergy between Borrelia burgdorferi Decorin Binding Protein A and Outer Surface Protein A in the Mouse Model of Lyme BorreliosisInfection and Immunity, 2000
- Attachment of Borrelia burgdorferi within Ixodes scapularis mediated by outer surface protein AJournal of Clinical Investigation, 2000
- Decorin-Binding Protein A (DbpA) of Borrelia burgdorferi Is Not Protective When Immunized Mice Are Challenged via Tick Infestation and Correlates with the Lack of DbpA Expression by B. burgdorferi in TicksInfection and Immunity, 2000
- A new animal model for studying Lyme disease spirochetes in a mammalian host-adapted state.Journal of Clinical Investigation, 1998
- Molecular analysis of linear plasmid‐encoded major surface proteins, OspA and OspB, of the Lyme disease spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferiMolecular Microbiology, 1989