Temporal analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi Erp protein expression throughout the mammal-tick infectious cycle

Previous immunological studies indicated that the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, expresses Erp outer surface proteins during mammalian infection. We conducted analyses of Erp expression throughout the entire tick-mammal infectious cycle, which revealed that the bacteria regulate Erp production in vivo. Bacteria within unfed nymphal ticks expressed little to no Erp proteins. However, as infected ticks fed on mice, B. burgdorferi increased production of Erp proteins, with essentially all transmitted bacteria expressing these proteins. Mice infected with B. burgdorferi mounted rapid IgM responses to all tested Erp proteins, followed by strong immunoglobulin G responses that generally increased in intensity throughout 11 months of infection, suggesting continued exposure of Erp proteins to the host immune system throughout chronic infection. As naive tick larvae acquired B. burgdorferi by feeding on infected mice, essentially all transmitted bacteria produced Erp proteins, also suggestive of continual Erp expression during mammalian infection. Shortly after the larvae acquired bacteria, Erp production was drastically downregulated. The expression of Erp proteins on B. burgdorferi throughout mammalian infection is consistent with their hypothesized function as factor H-binding proteins that protect the bacteria from host innate immune responses.     

Borrelia burgdorferi Erp Proteins Are Immunogenic in Mammals Infected by Tick Bite, and Their Synthesis Is Inducible in Cultured Bacteria

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, can contain multiple genes encoding different members of the Erp lipoprotein family. Some arthropod-borne bacteria increase the synthesis of proteins required for transmission or mammalian infection when cultures are shifted from cool, ambient air temperature to a warmer, blood temperature. We found that all of the erp genes known to be encoded by infectious isolate B31 were differentially expressed in culture after a change in temperature, with greater amounts of message being produced by bacteria shifted from 23 to 35°C than in those maintained at 23°C. Mice infected with B31 by tick bite produced antibodies that recognized each of the Erp proteins within 4 weeks of infection, suggesting that the Erp proteins are produced by the bacteria during the early stages of mammalian infection and may play roles in transmission from ticks to mammals. Several of the B31 Erp proteins were also recognized by antibodies from patients with Lyme disease and may prove to be useful antigens for diagnostic testing or as components of a protective vaccine.     

Differential Binding of Host Complement Inhibitor Factor H by Borrelia burgdorferi Erp Surface Proteins: a Possible Mechanism Underlying the Expansive Host Range of Lyme Disease Spirochetes

The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, is capable of infecting a wide variety of vertebrates. This broad host range implies that B. burgdorferi possesses the ability to contravene the immune defenses of many potential hosts. B. burgdorferi produces multiple different Erp proteins on its outer membrane during mammalian infection. It was reported previously that one Erp protein can bind human factor H (J. Hellwage, T. Meri, T. Heikkil?, A. Alitalo, J. Panelius, P. Lahdenne, I. J. T. Sepp?l?, and S. Meri, J. Biol. Chem. 276:8427-8435, 2001). In this paper we report that the ability to bind the complement inhibitor factor H is a general characteristic of Erp proteins. Furthermore, each Erp protein exhibits different relative affinities for the complement inhibitors of various potential animal hosts. The data suggest that the presence of multiple Erp proteins on the surface can allow a single B. burgdorferi bacterium to resist complement-mediated killing in any of the wide range of potential hosts that it might infect. Thus, Erp proteins likely contribute to the persistence of B. burgdorferi in nature and to the ability of this bacterium to cause Lyme disease in humans and other animals.     

Stability of erp Loci during Borrelia burgdorferi Infection: Recombination Is Not Required for Chronic Infection of Immunocompetent Mice

Borrelia burgdorferi can persistently infect mammals despite their production of antibodies directed against bacterial proteins, including the Erp lipoproteins. We sequenced erp loci of bacteria reisolated from laboratory mice after 1 year of infection and found them to be identical to those of the inoculant bacteria. We conclude that recombination of erp genes is not essential for chronic mammalian infection.     

Borrelia burgdorferi regulates expression of complement regulator-acquiring surface protein 1 during the mammal-tick infection cycle

During the natural mammal-tick infection cycle, the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi comes into contact with components of the alternative complement pathway. B. burgdorferi, like many other human pathogens, has evolved the immune evasion strategy of binding two host-derived fluid-phase regulators of complement, factor H and factor H-like protein 1 (FHL-1). The borrelial complement regulator-acquiring surface protein 1 (CRASP-1) is a surface-exposed lipoprotein that binds both factor H and FHL-1. Analysis of CRASP-1 expression during the mammal-tick infectious cycle indicated that B. burgdorferi expresses this protein during mammalian infection, supporting the hypothesized role for CRASP-1 in immune evasion. However, CRASP-1 synthesis was repressed in bacteria during colonization of vector ticks. Analysis of cultured bacteria indicated that CRASP-1 is differentially expressed in response to changes in pH. Comparisons of CRASP-1 expression patterns with those of other infection-associated B. burgdorferi proteins, including the OspC, OspA, and Erp proteins, indicated that each protein is regulated through a unique mechanism.     

Mycobacterium marinum Erp is a virulence determinant required for cell wall integrity and intracellular survival

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis exported repetitive protein (Erp) is a virulence determinant required for growth in cultured macrophages and in vivo. To better understand the role of Erp in Mycobacterium pathogenesis, we generated a mutation in the erp homologue of Mycobacterium marinum, a close genetic relative of M. tuberculosis. erp-deficient M. marinum was growth attenuated in cultured macrophage monolayers and during chronic granulomatous infection of leopard frogs, suggesting that Erp function is similarly required for the virulence of both M. tuberculosis and M. marinum. To pinpoint the step in infection at which Erp is required, we utilized a zebrafish embryo infection model that allows M. marinum infections to be visualized in real-time, comparing the erp-deficient strain to a DeltaRD1 mutant whose stage of attenuation was previously characterized in zebrafish embryos. A detailed microscopic examination of infected embryos revealed that bacteria lacking Erp were compromised very early in infection, failing to grow and/or survive upon phagocytosis by host macrophages. In contrast, DeltaRD1 mutant bacteria grow normally in macrophages but fail to induce host macrophage aggregation and subsequent cell-to-cell spread. Consistent with these in vivo findings, erp-deficient but not RD1-deficient bacteria exhibited permeability defects in vitro, which may be responsible for their specific failure to survive in host macrophages.     

LuxS-mediated quorum sensing in Borrelia burgdorferi,the lyme disease spirochete

The establishment of Borrelia burgdorferi infection involves numerous interactions between the bacteria and a variety of vertebrate host and arthropod vector tissues. This complex process requires regulated synthesis of many bacterial proteins. We now demonstrate that these spirochetes utilize a LuxS/autoinducer-2 (AI-2)-based quorum-sensing mechanism to regulate protein expression, the first system of cell-cell communication to be described in a spirochete. The luxS gene of B. burgdorferi was identified and demonstrated to encode a functional enzyme by complementation of an Escherichia coli luxS mutant. Cultured B. burgdorferi responded to AI-2 by altering the expression levels of a large number of proteins, including the complement regulator factor H-binding Erp proteins. Through this mechanism, a population of Lyme disease spirochetes may synchronize production of specific proteins needed for infection processes.     

Borrelia burgdorferi RevA antigen is a surface-exposed outer membrane protein whose expression is regulated in response to environmental temperature and pH

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, produces RevA protein during the early stages of mammalian infection. B. burgdorferi apparently uses temperature as a cue to its location, producing proteins required for infection of warm-blooded animals at temperatures corresponding to host body temperature, but does not produce such virulence factors at cooler, ambient temperatures. We have observed that B. burgdorferi regulates expression of RevA in response to temperature, with the protein being synthesized by bacteria cultivated at 34 degrees C but not by those grown at 23 degrees C. Tissues encountered by B. burgdorferi during its infectious cycle vary in their pH values, and the level of RevA expression was also found to be dependent upon pH of the culture medium. The cellular localization of RevA was also analyzed. Borrelial inner and outer membranes were purified by isopycnic centrifugation, and membrane fractions were conclusively identified by immunoblot analysis using antibodies raised against the integral inner membrane protein MotB and outer membrane-associated Erp lipoproteins. Immunoblot analyses indicated that RevA is located in the B. burgdorferi outer membrane. These analyses also demonstrated that an earlier report (H. A. Bledsoe et al., Infect. Immun. 176:7447-7455, 1994) had misidentified such B. burgdorferi membrane fractions. RevA was further demonstrated to be exposed to the external environment, where it could facilitate interactions with host tissues.     

Borrelia burgdorferi Infection-Associated Surface Proteins ErpP,ErpA, and ErpC Bind Human Plasminogen

Host-derived plasmin plays a critical role in mammalian infection by Borrelia burgdorferi. The Lyme disease spirochete expresses several plasminogen-binding proteins. Bound plasminogen is converted to the serine protease plasmin and thereby may facilitate the bacterium''s dissemination throughout the host by degrading extracellular matrix. In this work, we demonstrate plasminogen binding by three highly similar borrelial outer surface proteins, ErpP, ErpA, and ErpC, all of which are expressed during mammalian infection. Extensive characterization of ErpP demonstrated that this protein bound in a dose-dependent manner to lysine binding site I of plasminogen. Removal of three lysine residues from the carboxy terminus of ErpP significantly reduced binding of plasminogen, and the presence of a lysine analog, ɛ-aminocaproic acid, inhibited the ErpP-plasminogen interaction, thus strongly pointing to a primary role for lysine residues in plasminogen binding. Ionic interactions are not required in ErpP binding of plasminogen, as addition of excess NaCl or the polyanion heparin did not have any significant effect on binding. Plasminogen bound to ErpP could be converted to the active enzyme, plasmin. The three plasminogen-binding Erp proteins can also bind the host complement regulator factor H. Plasminogen and factor H bound simultaneously and did not compete for binding to ErpP, indicating separate binding sites for both host ligands and the ability of the borrelial surface proteins to bind both host proteins.Lyme disease is the most commonly reported arthropod-borne disease in the United States (8). Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted to its hosts through the bites of infected Ixodes ticks. In the earliest stage of Lyme disease, a bull''s-eye-shaped rash, erythema migrans, occurs as the spirochete spreads outward from the site of the tick bite. If left untreated, serious clinical outcomes can occur, including arthritis, neuropathies, and carditis (48).The bacterium disseminates from the bite site to other host tissues. B. burgdorferi can traverse the epithelium and invade vascular walls but is rarely abundant in blood (1). In addition, B. burgdorferi can pass through the blood-brain barrier to enter the central nervous system (58). The spirochete, unlike many invasive pathogens, lacks surface protease activities (12, 26). Therefore, binding of host proteases to the surface of the bacterium may aid in the spirochete''s dissemination. Indeed, B. burgdorferi binds plasminogen, a component of the host''s fibrinolytic system (12, 19). Plasminogen circulates in the plasma as an inactive proenzyme and is activated by tissue-type plasminogen activator and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) to plasmin (55). Plasminogen binding is an important virulence factor for invasive pathogens such as group A streptococci and Staphylococcus, as well as Borrelia species (10, 43, 55). The binding of plasminogen to bacteria and its subsequent activation allow bacteria to degrade the host''s extracellular matrix and basement membranes either through the direct protease activity of plasmin or by plasmin''s activation of host matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). B. burgdorferi has previously been shown to bind plasminogen, which is rapidly converted to active plasmin in the presence of host plasminogen activator (11). In vitro, plasmin-coated B. burgdorferi is able to penetrate endothelial cell monolayers (12). Surface-associated plasmin on B. burgdorferi can directly degrade fibronectin, a major component of the extracellular matrix, as well as laminin and vitronectin (11, 19). B. burgdorferi induces the release of MMP-9 (gelatinase) and MMP-1 (collagenase) from human cells, and plasmin-coated B. burgdorferi activates pro-MMP-9 (20), initiating a cascade that leads to degradation of basement membranes. Plasminogen has previously been shown to be important in B. burgdorferi pathogenesis. Although not strictly required for infection, plasminogen was required for efficient dissemination in ticks, and its absence decreased spirochetemia in plasminogen-deficient mice (10).Plasminogen-binding proteins of B. burgdorferi have previously been identified, including the outer-surface lipoprotein OspA (19). A role for OspC in plasminogen binding has also been suggested (31). However, OspA is generally not expressed during human infection, and OspC production ceases within the first few days of mammalian infection (13, 24, 25, 34, 42). Other, unidentified plasminogen-binding proteins have been observed in B. burgdorferi, including a protein(s) with an approximate molecular mass of 20 kDa, which is close to the size of several Erp proteins (12, 19). The members of the Erp family of outer-surface lipoproteins are expressed at high levels during mammalian infection (15, 23, 38-41).Lyme disease spirochetes contain numerous DNA elements, including the main chromosome as well as linear and circular plasmids (6). Infectious isolates carry several distinct yet homologous elements called cp32s, circular prophages of approximately 32 kb (54). All cp32 elements encode one or two Erp proteins, which can vary widely in amino acid sequence (50). However, all erp loci are preceded by nearly identical promoter regions (36, 53). Hence, most of the erp genes analyzed follow the same pattern of expression, being repressed in the tick vector but synthesized during mammalian infection (15, 21, 23, 35, 37-41). Roles for most of the Erp proteins have yet to be defined. ErpX has been demonstrated to bind host laminin (our unpublished results and reference 3). Three Erp proteins bind the host complement regulator factor H and factor H-related protein 1: ErpP, ErpC, and ErpA (22, 28, 29). Some factor H binding proteins of other human pathogens have been demonstrated to bind multiple ligands, including plasminogen (30, 47). These data, and the presence of unidentified plasminogen-binding proteins in B. burgdorferi, prompted us to examine if Erp proteins are able to bind plasminogen.     

Borrelia burgdorferi B31 Erp proteins that are dominant immunoblot antigens of animals infected with isolate B31 are recognized by only a subset of human lyme disease patient sera

Sera from animals infected with Borrelia burgdorferi isolates yield intense immunoblot signals from the B31 ErpA/I/N and ErpB/J/O proteins, which have apparent molecular masses of 19 and 60 kDa, respectively. Since B. burgdorferi proteins with those molecular masses are of immunodiagnostic importance, Lyme disease patient sera were used in studies of B31 lysates and recombinant B31 ErpA/I/N and ErpB/J/O proteins. Immunoblot analyses indicated that only a minority of the patients produced antibodies that recognized the tested B31 Erp proteins. Southern blot analyses of Lyme disease spirochetes cultured from 16 of the patients indicated that all these bacteria contain genes related to the B31 erpA/I/N and erpB/J/O genes, although signal strengths indicated only weak similarities in many cases, suggestive of genetic variability of erp genes among these bacteria. These data indicate that Erp proteins are generally not the 19- and 60-kDa antigens observed on serodiagnostic immunoblots.     

Identification of Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface proteins

Several Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface proteins have been identified over the past decade that are up-regulated by temperature- and/or mammalian host-specific signals as this spirochete is transmitted from ticks to mammals. Given the potential role(s) that these differentially up-regulated proteins may play in B. burgdorferi transmission and Lyme disease pathogenesis, much attention has recently been placed on identifying additional borrelial outer surface proteins. To identify uncharacterized B. burgdorferi outer surface proteins, we previously performed a comprehensive gene expression profiling analysis of temperature-shifted and mammalian host-adapted B. burgdorferi. The combined microarray analyses revealed that many genes encoding known and putative outer surface proteins are down-regulated in mammalian host-adapted B. burgdorferi. At the same time, however, several different genes encoding putative outer surface proteins were found to be up-regulated during the transmission and infection process. Among the putative outer surface proteins identified, biochemical and surface localization analyses confirmed that seven (Bb0405, Bb0689, BbA36, BbA64, BbA66, BbA69, and BbI42) are localized to the surface of B. burgdorferi. Furthermore, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis using serum from tick-infested baboons indicated that all seven outer surface proteins identified are immunogenic and that antibodies are generated against all seven during a natural infection. Specific antibodies generated against all seven of these surface proteins were found to be bactericidal against B. burgdorferi, indicating that these newly identified outer surface proteins are prime candidates for analysis as second-generation Lyme disease vaccinogens.     

A genome-wide proteome array reveals a limited set of immunogens in natural infections of humans and white-footed mice with Borrelia burgdorferi

Humans and other animals with Lyme borreliosis produce antibodies to a number of components of the agent Borrelia burgdorferi, but a full accounting of the immunogens during natural infections has not been achieved. Employing a protein array produced in vitro from 1,292 DNA fragments representing ~80% of the genome, we compared the antibody reactivities of sera from patients with early or later Lyme borreliosis to the antibody reactivities of sera from controls. Overall, ~15% of the open reading frame (ORF) products (Orfs) of B. burgdorferi in the array detectably elicited an antibody response in humans with natural infections. Among the immunogens, 103 stood out on the basis of statistical criteria. The majority of these Orfs were also immunogenic with sera obtained from naturally infected Peromyscus leucopus mice, a major reservoir. The high-ranking set included several B. burgdorferi proteins hitherto unrecognized as immunogens, as well as several proteins that have been established as antigens. The high-ranking immunogens were more likely than nonreactive Orfs to have the following characteristics: (i) plasmid-encoded rather than chromosome-encoded proteins, (ii) a predicted lipoprotein, and (iii) a member of a paralogous family of proteins, notably the Bdr and Erp proteins. The newly discovered antigens included Orfs encoded by several ORFs of the lp36 linear plasmid, such as BBK07 and BBK19, and proteins of the flagellar apparatus, such as FliL. These results indicate that the majority of deduced proteins of B. burgdorferi do not elicit antibody responses during infection and that the limited sets of immunogens are similar for two different host species.     

LfhA, a novel factor H-binding protein of Leptospira interrogans

The early phase of leptospiral infection is characterized by the presence of live organisms in the blood. Pathogenic Leptospira interrogans is resistant to the alternative pathway of complement mediated-killing, while nonpathogenic members of the genus are not. Consistent with that observation, only pathogenic leptospires bound factor H, a host fluid-phase regulator of the alternative complement pathway. Ligand affinity blot analyses revealed that pathogenic L. interrogans produces at least two factor H-binding proteins. Through screening of a lambda phage expression library, we identified one of these as the novel membrane protein LfhA. Ligand affinity assays and surface plasmon resonance analyses of recombinant LfhA revealed specific binding of both factor H and factor H-related protein 1. Serological examination of infected humans and horses demonstrated that LfhA is expressed by L. interrogans during mammalian infection. LfhA may therefore contribute to the resistance of pathogenic leptospires to complement-mediated killing during leptospiremic phases of the disease.     

Simultaneous variation of the immunodominant outer membrane proteins, MSP2 and MSP3, during anaplasma marginale persistence in vivo

Vector-borne bacterial pathogens persist in the mammalian host by varying surface antigens to evade the existing immune response. To test whether the model of surface coat switching and immune evasion can be extended to a vector-borne bacterial pathogen with multiple immunodominant surface proteins, we examined Anaplasma marginale, a rickettsia with two highly immunogenic outer membrane proteins, major surface protein 2 (MSP2) and MSP3. The simultaneous clearance of variants of the two most immunodominant surface proteins of A. marginale followed by emergence of unique variants indicates that the switch rates and immune selection for MSP2 and MSP3 are sufficiently similar to explain the cyclic bacteremia observed during infection in the immunocompetent host.     

Diversity of Antibody Responses to Borrelia burgdorferi in Experimentally Infected Beagle Dogs

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a common infection of domestic dogs in areas where there is enzootic transmission of the agent Borrelia burgdorferi. While immunoassays based on individual subunits have mostly supplanted the use of whole-cell preparations for canine serology, only a limited number of informative antigens have been identified. To more broadly characterize the antibody responses to B. burgdorferi infection and to assess the diversity of those responses in individual dogs, we examined sera from 32 adult colony-bred beagle dogs that had been experimentally infected with B. burgdorferi through tick bites and compared those sera in a protein microarray with sera from uninfected dogs in their antibody reactivities to various recombinant chromosome- and plasmid-encoded B. burgdorferi proteins, including 24 serotype-defining OspC proteins of North America. The profiles of immunogenic proteins for the dogs were largely similar to those for humans and natural-reservoir rodents; these proteins included the decorin-binding protein DbpB, BBA36, BBA57, BBA64, the fibronectin-binding protein BBK32, VlsE, FlaB and other flagellar structural proteins, Erp proteins, Bdr proteins, and all of the OspC proteins. In addition, the canine sera bound to the presumptive lipoproteins BBB14 and BB0844, which infrequently elicited antibodies in humans or rodents. Although the beagle, like most other domestic dog breeds, has a small effective population size and features extensive linkage disequilibrium, the group of animals studied here demonstrated diversity in antibody responses in measures of antibody levels and specificities for conserved proteins, such as DbpB, and polymorphic proteins, such as OspC.     

Immune evasion of Borrelia burgdorferi: mapping of a complement-inhibitor factor H-binding site of BbCRASP-3, a novel member of the Erp protein family

The causative agents of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., B. garinii, and B. afzelii, differ in their susceptibility to complement-mediated lysis. This phenomenon apparently depends on the expression of proteins termed complement regulator-acquiring surface proteins (CRASP) and their binding to the inhibitory plasma proteins factor H and FHL-1. To characterize these bacterial proteins in more detail we have now isolated from a B. burgdorferi expression library a novel factor H-binding protein. In accordance with our previous studies this protein was termed BbCRASP-3 and represents a novel member of the polymorphic Erp (OspE/F-related) protein family. On the basis of protease accessibility assays using intact spirochetes, BbCRASP-3 is identified as a surface-exposed protein and binds the C-terminal short consensus repeats of factor H. Applying deletion mutants of BbCRASP-3, the factor H-binding site was mapped to the nine-amino-acid motif LEVLKKNLK localized at the C-terminal end of BbCRASP-3. Factor H bound to BbCRASP-3 maintains its cofactor activity in factor I-mediated C3b inactivation. Binding of BbCRASP-3 to factor H can be inhibited by heparin, a physiological ligand of the complement regulator factor H. Blocking of factor-H-binding by soluble BbCRASP-3 leads to an increase of complement deposition on intermediate serum-resistant strain ZS7. In conclusion, BbCRASP-3 has been identified as a novel factor H-binding protein on B. burgdorferi which by conferring complement resistance to the pathogen may contribute to its persistence in the mammalian host.     

Changes in temporal and spatial patterns of outer surface lipoprotein expression generate population heterogeneity and antigenic diversity in the Lyme disease spirochete,Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi differentially expresses many of the OspE/F/Elp paralogs during tick feeding. These findings, combined with the recent report that stable B. burgdorferi infection of mammals occurs only after 53 h of tick attachment, prompted us to further analyze the expression of the OspE/F/Elp paralogs during this critical period of transmission. Indirect immunofluorescence analysis revealed that OspE, p21, ElpB1, ElpB2, and OspF/BbK2.11 are expressed in the salivary glands of ticks allowed to feed on mice for 53 to 58 h. Interestingly, many of the spirochetes in the salivary glands that expressed abundant amounts of these antigens were negative for OspA and OspC. Although prior reports have indicated that OspE/F/Elp orthologs are surface exposed, none of the individual lipoproteins or combinations of the lipoproteins protected mice from challenge infections. To examine why these apparently surface-exposed lipoproteins were not protective, we analyzed their genetic stability during infection and their cellular locations after cultivation in vitro and within dialysis membrane chambers, mimicking a mammalian host-adapted state. Combined restriction fragment length polymorphism and nucleotide sequence analyses revealed that the genes encoding these lipoproteins are stable for at least 8 months postinfection. Interestingly, cellular localization experiments revealed that while all of these proteins can be surface localized, there were significant populations of spirochetes that expressed these lipoproteins only in the periplasm. Furthermore, host-specific signals were found to alter the expression patterns and final cellular location of these lipoproteins. The combined data revealed a remarkable heterogeneity in populations of B. burgdorferi during tick transmission and mammalian infection. The diversity is generated not only by temporal changes in antigen expression but also by modulation of the surface lipoproteins during infection. The ability to regulate the temporal and spatial expression patterns of lipoproteins throughout infection likely contributes to persistent infection of mammals by B. burgdorferi.