Borrelia burgdorferi complement regulator-acquiring surface protein 2 does not contribute to complement resistance or host infectivity

PLoS One. 2008 Aug 20;3(8):3010e. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003010.

Abstract

Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen of Lyme disease, cycles in nature through Ixodes ticks and mammalian hosts. At least five Complement Regulator-Acquiring Surface Proteins (BbCRASPs) are produced by B. burgdorferi, which are thought to assist spirochetes in host immune evasion. Recent studies established that BbCRASP-2 is preferentially expressed in mammals, and elicits robust antibody response in infected hosts, including humans. We show that BbCRASP-2 is ubiquitously expressed in diverse murine tissues, but not in ticks, reinforcing a role of BbCRASP-2 in conferring B. burgdorferi defense against persistent host immune threats, such as complement. BbCRASP-2 immunization, however, fails to protect mice from B. burgdorferi infection and does not modify disease, as reflected by the development of arthritis. An infectious BbCRASP-2 mutant was generated, therefore, to examine the precise role of the gene product in spirochete infectivity. Similar to wild type B. burgdorferi, BbCRASP-2 mutants remain insensitive to complement-mediated killing in vitro, retain full murine infectivity and induce arthritis. Quantitative RT-PCR assessment indicates that survivability of BbCRASP-2-deficient B. burgdorferi is not due to altered expression of other BbCRASPs. Together, these results suggest that the function of a selectively expressed B. burgdorferi gene, BbCRASP-2, is not essential for complement resistance or infectivity in the murine host.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / physiology*
  • Borrelia burgdorferi / genetics
  • Borrelia burgdorferi / pathogenicity*
  • Borrelia burgdorferi / physiology*
  • Complement System Proteins / physiology
  • Endopeptidase K / metabolism
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
  • Humans
  • Lyme Disease / microbiology
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Membrane Proteins / physiology*
  • Mice / microbiology
  • Mice, Inbred C3H
  • Mutation
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Recombinant Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Ticks / microbiology

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • complement regulator-acquiring surface proteins, Borrelia burgdorferi
  • Complement System Proteins
  • Endopeptidase K