Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Species in Europe Induce Diverse Immune Responses against C6 Peptides in Infected Mice
ABSTRACTThe diversity of Lyme-borreliosis-inducingBorreliaspecies in Europe set high standards for the use of serodiagnostic test systems in terms of specificity and sensitivity. In the United States, the one-step C6antibody test system based on the invariable domain IR6 of the VlsE molecule has been established as a successful diagnostic tool for testing canine samples. However, only a limited set of data are available regarding the antigenicity of the C6peptides in an experimental murine model and sensitivity of the test regarding EuropeanBorreliaspecies. In order to investigate antibody reactions induced by these spirochetes, a total of 142 C3H/HeN mice were inoculated withBorrelia burgdorferisensu stricto N40,B. gariniiPBi, two isolates ofB. afzelii,B. spielmaniiA14S,B. valaisianaRio6,B. valaisianaVS116, orB. lusitaniae. Infection of the mice was documented utilizing tissue culture and PCR. The IR6 sequences ofB. burgdorferisensu stricto B31,B. gariniiIP90, and twoB. afzeliiACAI strains have been used to synthesize and test additional C6peptides. Compared to the well-established two-tiered test system, the results indicate that single C6peptides derived fromB. burgdorferisensu stricto andB. gariniican be used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based technique to detect murine antibodies induced by either agent. Little is known about the prevalence or pathogenicity of theB. afzeliistrains in mammalian hosts, but our experimental data indicate differences in the C6peptide test sensitivity for the detection of antibodies induced by different strains or isolates ofB. afzelii.