Abstract
Spirochete adaptation in vivo is associated with preferential Borrelia burgdorferi gene expression. In this paper, we show that the administration of B. burgdorferi-immune sera to IFN-γR-deficient mice that have been infected with B. burgdorferi N40 for 4 days causes spirochete clearance. In contrast, immune sera-mediated clearance of B. burgdorferi N40 is not apparent in immunocompetent mice, suggesting a role for IFN-γ-mediated responses in B. burgdorferi N40 host adaptation. B. burgdorferi-immune sera also induces clearance of B. burgdorferi N40 that have been passaged in vitro 75 times (B. burgdorferi N40-75), a derivative of B. burgdorferi N40 that does not rapidly adapt in vivo in immunocompetent mice. B. burgdorferi N40-75 produce lower levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 in mice than does B. burgdorferi N40, and the administration of these cytokines to B. burgdorferi N40-75-infected mice results in an increased spirochetal burden, further indicating that IFN-γ-mediated events promote B. burgdorferi survival. Differential immunoscreening and RT-PCR demonstrate that IFN-γ-mediated signals facilitate spirochete recombination at the variable major protein like sequence locus, a site for early antigenic variation in vivo, and that recombination rates by B. burgdorferi N40 are lower in IFN-γR-deficient mice than in control animals. These results suggest that the murine immune response can promote the in vivo adaptation of B. burgdorferi.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3383-3390 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Immunology |
| Volume | 167 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| State | Published - Sep 15 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology
Cite this
Borrelia burgdorferi-induced inflammation facilitates spirochete adaptation and variable major protein-like sequence locus recombination. / Anguita, J.; Thomas, V.; Samanta, S.; Persinski, R.; Hernanz, C.; Barthold, Stephen W; Fikrig, E.
In: Journal of Immunology, Vol. 167, No. 6, 15.09.2001, p. 3383-3390.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Borrelia burgdorferi-induced inflammation facilitates spirochete adaptation and variable major protein-like sequence locus recombination
AU - Anguita, J.
AU - Thomas, V.
AU - Samanta, S.
AU - Persinski, R.
AU - Hernanz, C.
AU - Barthold, Stephen W
AU - Fikrig, E.
PY - 2001/9/15
Y1 - 2001/9/15
N2 - Spirochete adaptation in vivo is associated with preferential Borrelia burgdorferi gene expression. In this paper, we show that the administration of B. burgdorferi-immune sera to IFN-γR-deficient mice that have been infected with B. burgdorferi N40 for 4 days causes spirochete clearance. In contrast, immune sera-mediated clearance of B. burgdorferi N40 is not apparent in immunocompetent mice, suggesting a role for IFN-γ-mediated responses in B. burgdorferi N40 host adaptation. B. burgdorferi-immune sera also induces clearance of B. burgdorferi N40 that have been passaged in vitro 75 times (B. burgdorferi N40-75), a derivative of B. burgdorferi N40 that does not rapidly adapt in vivo in immunocompetent mice. B. burgdorferi N40-75 produce lower levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 in mice than does B. burgdorferi N40, and the administration of these cytokines to B. burgdorferi N40-75-infected mice results in an increased spirochetal burden, further indicating that IFN-γ-mediated events promote B. burgdorferi survival. Differential immunoscreening and RT-PCR demonstrate that IFN-γ-mediated signals facilitate spirochete recombination at the variable major protein like sequence locus, a site for early antigenic variation in vivo, and that recombination rates by B. burgdorferi N40 are lower in IFN-γR-deficient mice than in control animals. These results suggest that the murine immune response can promote the in vivo adaptation of B. burgdorferi.
AB - Spirochete adaptation in vivo is associated with preferential Borrelia burgdorferi gene expression. In this paper, we show that the administration of B. burgdorferi-immune sera to IFN-γR-deficient mice that have been infected with B. burgdorferi N40 for 4 days causes spirochete clearance. In contrast, immune sera-mediated clearance of B. burgdorferi N40 is not apparent in immunocompetent mice, suggesting a role for IFN-γ-mediated responses in B. burgdorferi N40 host adaptation. B. burgdorferi-immune sera also induces clearance of B. burgdorferi N40 that have been passaged in vitro 75 times (B. burgdorferi N40-75), a derivative of B. burgdorferi N40 that does not rapidly adapt in vivo in immunocompetent mice. B. burgdorferi N40-75 produce lower levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 in mice than does B. burgdorferi N40, and the administration of these cytokines to B. burgdorferi N40-75-infected mice results in an increased spirochetal burden, further indicating that IFN-γ-mediated events promote B. burgdorferi survival. Differential immunoscreening and RT-PCR demonstrate that IFN-γ-mediated signals facilitate spirochete recombination at the variable major protein like sequence locus, a site for early antigenic variation in vivo, and that recombination rates by B. burgdorferi N40 are lower in IFN-γR-deficient mice than in control animals. These results suggest that the murine immune response can promote the in vivo adaptation of B. burgdorferi.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 11544329
AN - SCOPUS:0035884821
VL - 167
SP - 3383
EP - 3390
JO - Journal of Immunology
JF - Journal of Immunology
SN - 0022-1767
IS - 6
ER -