Sera from Patients with Chronic Lyme Disease Protect Mice from Lyme Borreliosis

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases 1994-03, Vol.169 (3), p.568-574
• Main Authors: Fikrig, Erol, Bockenstedt, Linda K., Barthold, Stephen W., Chen, Manchuan, Tao, Hong, Salaam, Pia Ali, Telford, Sam R., Flavell, Richard A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Antibodies, Bacterial - administration & dosage; Antibodies, Bacterial - immunology; Antigens, Bacterial; Antigens, Surface - immunology; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins - immunology; Bacterial Vaccines; Biological and medical sciences; Borrelia burgdorferi; Borrelia burgdorferi Group - immunology; Chronic Disease; Experimental bacterial diseases and models; Female; Humans; Immunity; Immunization, Passive; Immunoblotting; Infections; Infectious diseases; Inoculation; Lipoproteins; Lyme disease; Lyme Disease - immunology; Lyme Disease - prevention & control; Major Articles; Medical sciences; Membrane proteins; Mice; Mice, Inbred C3H; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Precipitin Tests; Spirochaetales; Vaccination
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/169.3.568

Sera from selected patients with Lyme disease in different stages were used to passively immunize mice against Borrelia burgdorferi challenge to determine if human antibodies could protect the animals from infection. Sera from 2 patients with late-stage Lyme disease that contained strong antibody reactivity to proteins in B. burgdorferi lysates, including antibodies to the outer surface proteins (Osps)Aand B, partly protected micefrom infection after challengewith a small inoculum (102) of B. burgdorferi. Mice immunized with sera from either of these 2 patients developed significantly fewer infections from the borreliae (patient 1 serum, 5%;patient 2 serum, 25%) relative to control mice (patient 1 serum, 90%; patient 2 serum, 74%). In contrast, sera from 2 patients with early or late Lyme disease that lacked antibodies reactive to OspA and OspB did not confer protection. Immunity appeared to be related, at least in part, to the presence of a strong humoral response to the Osps. These results suggest that during prolonged infection, some patients developan immune response that maybe partly protective against reinfection with B. burgdorferi. Therefore, although most patientsdo not mount a strong humoral response to the Osps during natural infection, vaccination with an Osp may elicit protective immunity.