Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface protein (Osp) A is preferentially expressed by spirochetes in the Ixodes scapularis gut and facilitates pathogen-vector adherence in vitro. Here we examined B. burgdorferi-tick interactions in vivo by using Abs directed against OspA from each of the three major B. burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies: B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia ...

Examination of a number of previously published aligned Borrelia 16S rRNA sequences revealed the presence of regions which could serve as oligonucleotide probe targets for both species-specific identification of Borrelia burgdorferi and distinction between genomic groups. Total cellular RNA isolated from Borrelia cultures was used in slot blot analysis. Radiolabeled oligonucleotides designed to...

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has long been known to be capable of forming aggregates and colonies. It was recently demonstrated that Borrelia burgdorferi aggregate formation dramatically changes the in vitro response to hostile environments by this pathogen. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that these aggregates are indeed biofilms, structures whose re...

Because both Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi can be transmitted by the bite of a single coinfected Ixodes scapularis tick, an attempt was made to determine frequency with which whole blood samples that tested positive for B. infection polymerase chain reaction (PCR) would also test PCR infection. Over 7-year period from 2013 2019, 119 different patients on at least one sample. Among 11...

Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted by ticks. During transmission from the tick to the host, spirochetes are delivered with tick saliva, which contains the salivary protein Salp15. Salp15 has been shown to protect spirochetes against B. burgdorferi-specific antibodies. We now show that Salp15 from both Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes scapularis protects serum-sensitive iso...

To delineate the inflammatory potential of the 3 pathogenic species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, we stimulated monocyte-derived macrophages from healthy human donors with 10 isolates each of B. burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, or Borrelia garinii recovered from erythema migrans skin lesions of patients with Lyme borreliosis from the United States or Slovenia. B. burgdorferi isolates from t...

An antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for detecting North American isolates of Borrelia burgdorferi in larval, nymphal, and adult ticks. The assay uses an anti-OspA monoclonal antibody (H5332) for antigen capture and biotin-labelled polyclonal sera with streptavidinhorseradish peroxidase for signal generation. The assay recognized 15 of 15 North American B. ...

Objective: We examined the blood of 48 North American Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) patients subsequently diagnosed with Lyme Disease Borrelia burgdorferi and compared these to 50 North American CFS patients without evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi infections for presence of Mycoplasma spp. co-infections using forensic polymerase chain reaction. Results: We found that 68.75% of CFS/Lyme patien...

The aim of our studies was to invent a reliable method for detection of the bactericidal activity of disinfectants against Borrelia burgdorferi in suspension (in vitro) and in cell line cultures (in vivo). In the suspension method, 0.01% octenidine at 20°C and 35°C was bactericidal to Borrelia afzeli; Borrelia garini, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto after 5 minutes treatment. Increase of the tempe...

Twenty-eight Borrelia burgdorferi isolates from the Charleston, S.C., area are described. This represents the first report and characterization of the Lyme disease spirochete from that state. The isolates were obtained from December 1994 through December 1995 from the tick Ixodes scapularis, collected from vegetation, and from the rodents Peromyscus gossypinus (cotton mouse), Neotoma floridana ...