Correlation of Culture Positivity, PCR Positivity, and Burden of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in Skin Samples of Erythema Migrans Patients with Clinical Findings.

Background: Limited data are available regarding the relationship of Borrelia burden in skin of patients with erythema migrans (EM) and the disease course and post-treatment outcome.

Methods: We studied 121 adult patients with EM in whom skin biopsy specimens were cultured and analyzed by quantitative PCR for the presence of Borreliae. Evaluation of clinical and microbiological findings were conducted at the baseline visit, and 14 days, 2, 6, and 12 months after treatment with either amoxicillin or cefuroxime axetil.

A Novel multivalent OspA vaccine against Lyme borreliosis is safe and immunogenic in an adult population previously infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.

Lyme borreliosis (LB) patients who recover, as well as previously infected asymptomatic individuals, remain vulnerable to reinfection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. There is limited information available about the use of OspA vaccines in this population. In this study, a randomized double-blind phase I/II trial was performed to investigate the safety and immunogenicity of a novel multivalent OspA vaccine in healthy adults who were either seronegative or seropositive for previous B.

Evaluation of OspA vaccination-induced serological correlates of protection against Lyme borreliosis in a mouse model.

Background: For clinical development of a novel multivalent OspA vaccine against Lyme borreliosis, serological assays are required which can be used to establish immune correlates of protection against infection with Borrelia.

Methods: Four assays (an OspA IgG ELISA, a competitive inhibition (CI) ELISA, a Borrelia surface-binding (SB) assay and a Borrelia killing assay) were used to evaluate the correlation between immune responses induced by rOspA 1/2 (a chimeric immunogen containing protective epitopes from OspA serotypes 1 and 2), and protective immunity against infection by B. burgdorferi s.

Quantitative detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in erythema migrans skin lesions using internally controlled duplex real time PCR.

B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. afzelii, B.

Safety and immunogenicity of a novel multivalent OspA vaccine against Lyme borreliosis in healthy adults: a double-blind, randomised, dose-escalation phase 1/2 trial.

Background: Lyme borreliosis is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto in the USA and by several Borrelia species in Europe and Asia, but no human vaccine is available. We investigated the safety and immunogenicity of adjuvanted and non-adjuvanted vaccines containing protective epitopes from Borrelia species outer surface protein A (OspA) serotypes in healthy adults.

Methods: Between March 1, 2011, and May 8, 2012, we did a double-blind, randomised, dose-escalation phase 1/2 study at four sites in Austria and Germany.

A new approach to a Lyme disease vaccine.

A single recombinant outer surface protein A (OspA) antigen designed to contain protective elements from 2 different OspA serotypes (1 and 2) is able to induce antibody responses that protect mice against infection with either Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (OspA serotype-1) or Borrelia afzelii (OspA serotype-2). Protection against infection with B burgdorferi ss strain ZS7 was demonstrated in a needle-challenge model. Protection against B.

Wide distribution of a high-virulence Borrelia burgdorferi clone in Europe and North America.

The A and B clones of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, distinguished by outer surface protein C (ospC) gene sequences, are commonly associated with disseminated Lyme disease. To resolve phylogenetic relationships among isolates, we sequenced 68 isolates from Europe and North America at 1 chromosomal locus (16S-23S ribosomal RNA spacer) and 3 plasmid loci (ospC,dbpA, and BBD14). The ospC-A clone appeared to be highly prevalent on both continents, and isolates of this clone were uniform in DNA sequences, which suggests a recent trans-oceanic migration.

Cell culture (Vero) derived whole virus (H5N1) vaccine based on wild-type virus strain induces cross-protective immune responses.

The rapid spread and the transmission to humans of avian influenza virus (H5N1) have induced world-wide fears of a new pandemic and raised concerns over the ability of standard influenza vaccine production methods to rapidly supply sufficient amounts of an effective vaccine. We report here on a robust and flexible strategy which uses wild-type virus grown in a continuous cell culture (Vero) system to produce an inactivated whole virus vaccine. Candidate vaccines based on clade 1 and clade 2 influenza H5N1 strains were developed and demonstrated to be highly immunogenic in animal models.

Delineation of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species by multilocus sequence analysis and confirmation of the delineation of Borrelia spielmanii sp. nov.

To evaluate multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) for taxonomic purposes in the delineation of species within Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, seven relevant loci of various strains for which extensive DNA-DNA reassociation data were available were sequenced. MLSA delineation proved to be fully concordant with conventional methods. Our analysis confirmed the delineation of a novel species, Borrelia spielmanii sp.

A DNA vaccine encoding the outer surface protein C from Borrelia burgdorferi is able to induce protective immune responses.

The outer surface protein C (OspC) of Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, is a promising candidate for a vaccine against borreliosis. BALB/c and C3H/HeJ mice were immunized either with recombinant OspC protein or with plasmid DNA encoding OspC fused to the human tissue plasminogen activator leader sequence (pCMV-TPA/ZS7). The influence of the route of administering the DNA and the use of oligodeoxynucleotides containing CpG-motifs on the development of the immune response was investigated.

Gene gun bombardment with gold particles displays a particular Th2-promoting signal that over-rules the Th1-inducing effect of immunostimulatory CpG motifs in DNA vaccines.

The mode of administering a DNA vaccine can influence the type of immune response induced by the vaccine. For instance, application of a DNA vaccine by gene gun typically induces a Th2-type reaction, whereas needle inoculation triggers a Th1 response. It has been proposed that the approximately 100-fold difference in the amount of DNA administered by these two methods is the critical factor determining whether a Th1 or a Th2 response is made.