Identification of a defined linear epitope in the OspA protein of the Lyme disease spirochetes that elicits bactericidal antibody responses: Implications for vaccine development.

Identification of a defined linear epitope in the OspA protein of the Lyme disease spirochetes that elicits bactericidal antibody responses: Implications for vaccine development. Vaccine. 2017 May 04;: Authors: Izac JR, Oliver LD, Earnhart CG, Marconi RT Abstract The lipoprotein OspA is produced by the Lyme disease spirochetes primarily in unfed ticks. OspA production is down-regulated by the blood meal and it is not produced in mammals except for possible transient production during late stage infection in patients with Lyme arthritis. Vaccination with OspA elicits antibody (Ab) that can target spirochetes in the tick midgut during feeding and inhibit transmission to mammals. OspA was the primary component of the human LYMErix™ vaccine. LYMErix™ was available from 1998 to 2002 but then pulled from the market due to declining sales as a result of unsubstantiated concerns about vaccination induced adverse events and poor efficacy. It was postulated that a segment of OspA that shares sequence similarity with a region in human LFA-1 and may trigger putative autoimmune events. While evidence supporting such a link has not been demonstrated, most efforts to move forward with OspA as a vaccine component have sought to eliminate this region of concern. Here we identify an OspA linear epitope localized within OspA amino acid residues 221-240 (OspA221-240) that lacks the OspA region suggested to elicit autoimmunity. A peptide consisting o...
Source: Vaccine - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: Vaccine Source Type: research