Borrelia burgdorferi RevA Significantly Affects Pathogenicity and Host Response in the Mouse Model of Lyme Disease |
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| Authors: | Rebecca Byram Robert A. Gaultney Angela M. Floden Christopher Hellekson Brandee L. Stone Amy Bowman Brian Stevenson Barbara J. B. Johnson Catherine A. Brissette |
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| Affiliation: | aDivision of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA;bDepartment of Basic Sciences, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA;cDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky School of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky, USA |
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| Abstract: | The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, expresses RevA and numerous outer surface lipoproteins during mammalian infection. As an adhesin that promotes bacterial interaction with fibronectin, RevA is poised to interact with the extracellular matrix of the host. To further define the role(s) of RevA during mammalian infection, we created a mutant that is unable to produce RevA. The mutant was still infectious to mice, although it was significantly less well able to infect cardiac tissues. Complementation of the mutant with a wild-type revA gene restored heart infectivity to wild-type levels. Additionally, revA mutants led to increased evidence of arthritis, with increased fibrotic collagen deposition in tibiotarsal joints. The mutants also induced increased levels of the chemokine CCL2, a monocyte chemoattractant, in serum, and this increase was abolished in the complemented strain. Therefore, while revA is not absolutely essential for infection, deletion of revA had distinct effects on dissemination, arthritis severity, and host response. |
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