Spirochetes Unwound

Description

This is a science blog that describes research being conducted on spirochetes and the diseases they inflict on humans.

Spirochetes Unwound's Latest Posts

Triggering OspC production in Borrelia burgdorferi during tick feeding: Is temperature the real signal?

The Ixodes tick, the vector of the Lyme disease spirochete, goes months without a meal. During this time, the Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes living in its midgut live quiet lives, sipping on the tick's antifreeze to sustain themselves. When the tick finally takes a blood meal from a warm-blooded victim, B. burgdorferi responds by producing a number of new proteins, some of which are needed for transmission to and infection of the mammalian host. Among these proteins is the outer […]

Jutras, B.L., Chenail, A.M. & Stevenson, B. (2012). Changes in bacterial growth rate govern expression of the Borrelia burgdorferi OspC and Erp infection-associated surface proteins., Journal of Bacteriology, 195 (4) 757-764. DOI: 10.1128/JB.01956-12

Schwan, T.G., Piesman, J., Golde, W.T., Dolan, M.C. & Rosa, P.A. (1995). Induction of an outer surface protein on Borrelia burgdorferi during tick feeding., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 92 (7) 2909-2913. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.92.7.2909

Citation

Is the major outer membrane lipoprotein LipL32 really exposed on the surface of Leptospira?

Here's a study that may come as a surprise to those in the leptospirosis field. The outer membrane lipoprotein LipL32 is believed to be the dominant protein on the cell surface of pathogenic species of Leptospira. However, according to a new PLoS One article written by Pinne and Haake at UCLA, LipL32 may not be present on the surface at all. This is an important issue to get right because the function proposed for LipL32, attachment to the extracellular matrix during […]

Pinne, M. & Haake, D.A. (2013). LipL32 is a subsurface lipoprotein of Leptospira interrogans: Presentation of new data and reevaluation of previous studies., PLoS ONE, 8 (1) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051025

Cullen, P.A., Xu, X., Matsunaga, J., Sanchez, Y., Ko, A.I., Haake, D.A. & Adler, B. (2005). Surfaceome of Leptospira spp., Infection and Immunity, 73 (8) 4853-4863. DOI: 10.1128/IAI.73.8.4853-4863.2005

Citation

An autoantigen targeted during Lyme arthritis

Infection by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, if left untreated, can lead to a form of Lyme disease called Lyme arthritis. About 10% of Lyme arthritis patients end up with a chronic form that doesn't go away with antibiotic treatment. Allen Steere's group has long suspected that the antibiotic-refractory form of Lyme arthritis involves an autoimmune process. This notion seems reasonable since those with antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis tend to have certain forms of the […]

Drouin, E.E., Seward, R.J., Strle, K., McHugh, G., Katchar, K., Londoño, D., Yao, C., Costello, C.E. & Steere, A.C. (2013). A novel human autoantigen, endothelial cell growth factor, is a target of T and B cell responses in patients with Lyme disease., Arthritis & Rheumatism, 65 (1) 186-196. DOI: 10.1002/art.37732

Seward, R.J., Drouin, E.E., Steere, A.C. & Costello, C.E. (2010). Peptides presented by HLA-DR molecules in synovia of patients with rheumatoid arthritis or antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis., Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 10 (3) DOI: 10.1074/mcp.M110.002477

Steere, A.C., Drouin, E.E. & Glickstein, L.J. (2011). Relationship between immunity to Borrelia burgdorferi Outer-surface protein A (OspA) and Lyme arthritis., Clinical Infectious Diseases, 52 (Supplement 3) DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciq117

Citation

LigB of Leptospira interrogans: Avoiding or exploiting complement?

LigB has turned out to be a versatile surface protein for Leptospira interrogans. The protein is one of several that the spirochete uses to stick to the extracellular matrix, a critical step in colonizing host tissues. In addition, LigB's ability to bind fibrinogen may help L. interrogans spread within the host by slowing clot formation. According to separate studies from the U.S. and Brazil published last year, LigB also helps L. interrogans fend off attack by the host […]

Castiblanco-Valencia MM, Fraga TR, da Silva LB, Monaris D, Abreu PAE, Strobel S, Jozsi M, Isaac L & Barbosa AS (2012). Leptospiral immunoglobulin-like proteins interact with human complement regulators factor H, FHL-1, FHR-1, and C4BP., Journal of Infectious Diseases, 205 (6) 995-1004. DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jir875

Choy H (2012). Multiple activities of LigB potentiate virulence of Leptospira interrogans: Inhibition of alternative and classical pathways of complement., PLoS ONE, 7 (7) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041566

Citation

Spirochete research: 2012 in review

Here are some of my favorite spirochete papers from 2012. Direct access to all research articles (some behind a paywall) is provided via the DOI links. Where present, the links above the citations lead to my blog posts about the studies.PATHOGENESISTwo distinct regions of the Borrelia burgdorferi BBK32 lipoprotein sequentially mediate binding to the vessel wall in vivo during escape of the spirochete from the bloodstream.Moriarty TJ, Shi , Lin Y-P, Ebady R, Zhou H, Odisho T, Hardy […]

Spirochetes Unwound

About Spirochetes Unwound

Authors

Description

Spirochetes Unwound's Latest Posts

Tags

Comments