| First Author | Probert WS | Year | 1997 |
| Journal | Vaccine | Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 15-9 |
| PubMed ID | 9041661 | Mgi Jnum | J:41332 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:893757 | Doi | 10.1016/s0264-410x(96)00123-5 |
| Citation | Probert WS, et al. (1997) Antibodies to OspB prevent infection of C3H mice challenged with Borrelia burgdorferi isolates expressing truncated OspB antigens. Vaccine 15(1):15-9 |
| abstractText | Truncation of outer surface protein B (OspB) of the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, may allow the organism to escape immunological destruction and render an OspB-based vaccine ineffective. To investigate this possibility, we have identified two isolates, 297 and CA4, which predominantly express a truncated form of the OspB antigen. In each case, nucleic acid sequencing revealed that truncation of the OspB antigen resulted from a nonsense mutation within the 3', end of the ospB gene. Growth inhibition and protection studies demonstrated that both isolates were neutralized by an anti-OspB serum. Our results indicate that truncated forms of the OspB antigen possess epitopes that may represent important targets for neutralizing antibodies and thus, support the inclusion of OspB as a component of a subunit vaccine. |
