A tick gut protein with fibronectin III domains aids Borrelia burgdorferi congregation to the gut during transmission

Borrelia burgdorferi transmission to the vertebrate host commences with growth of the spirochete in the tick gut and migration from the gut to the salivary glands. This complex process, involving intimate interactions of the spirochete with the gut epithelium, is pivotal to transmission. We utilized...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS pathogens 2014-08, Vol.10 (8), p.e1004278-e1004278
Main Authors: Narasimhan, Sukanya, Coumou, Jeroen, Schuijt, Tim J, Boder, Eric, Hovius, Joppe W, Fikrig, Erol
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Arthropod Proteins - metabolism
Biology and Life Sciences
Borrelia burgdorferi
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Disease Models, Animal
DNA
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Fibronectins
Fibronectins - metabolism
Gene expression
Health aspects
Host-Parasite Interactions - physiology
Lyme disease
Lyme Disease - transmission
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mice
Microscopy
Microscopy, Confocal
Migration
Molecular Sequence Data
Molecular weight
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Proteins
R&D
Research & development
Research and Analysis Methods
Software
Ticks
Ticks - metabolism
Vaccines
Variance analysis
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Summary:Borrelia burgdorferi transmission to the vertebrate host commences with growth of the spirochete in the tick gut and migration from the gut to the salivary glands. This complex process, involving intimate interactions of the spirochete with the gut epithelium, is pivotal to transmission. We utilized a yeast surface display library of tick gut proteins to perform a global screen for tick gut proteins that might interact with Borrelia membrane proteins. A putative fibronectin type III domain-containing tick gut protein (Ixofin3D) was most frequently identified from this screen and prioritized for further analysis. Immunization against Ixofin3D and RNA interference-mediated reduction in expression of Ixofin3D resulted in decreased spirochete burden in tick salivary glands and in the murine host. Microscopic examination showed decreased aggregation of spirochetes on the gut epithelium concomitant with reduced expression of Ixofin3D. Our observations suggest that the interaction between Borrelia and Ixofin3D facilitates spirochete congregation to the gut during transmission, and provides a "molecular exit" direction for spirochete egress from the gut.
ISSN:1553-7374
1553-7366
1553-7374
DOI:10.1371/journal.ppat.1004278