Utility of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto C6 Peptide for Serologic Confirmation of Erythema-Free Ixodid Tick-Borne Borrelioses in Russia.

Vera Pomelova,Eduard Korenberg,Tatiana Kuznetsova,Nikolay Osin

doi:10.1155/2018/5291926

Abstract

We evaluated the utility of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bb) peptide C6 for serologic confirmation of Ixodid Tick-Borne Borrelioses (ITBB) in Russia. Serum samples (N = 1089) were from erythema migrans (EM) (N = 327) and the EM-free (EMF) patients (N = 115); in some patients, the disease was accompanied by human granulocytic anaplasmosis or tick-borne encephalitis. The sera were investigated by multiplex phosphorescence analysis (PHOSPHAN) for IgM to Bb C6, recombinant OspC and VlsE proteins, and IgG to C6 from Bb, B. garinii (Bg), and B. afzelii (Ba). Detection of Bb C6 IgM/IgG provided effective serologic confirmation of ITBB in both EM and EMF patients early after disease onset. In the EM-free patients, however, this test needed to be supplemented with detection of VlsE IgM in convalescent-phase sera due to delay in development of the antibody responses for C6 IgG. In general, positive PHOSPHAN reactions were observed in 81.9% and 86.7% of the EM and EMF patients, respectively, as well as in 59 of 65 (90.8%) patients, whose blood contained B. burgdorferi sensu lato DNA. Additional detection of IgG to Bg C6 or Ba C6 had no significant contribution to serologic diagnosis of ITBB in both patient groups.

Highlights

Ixodid Tick-Borne Borrelioses (ITBB) are etiologically independent infections of the Lyme Borreliosis group in Russia [1]
The objective of this research was to compare the utility of PHOSPHAN method for the serologic diagnosis of ITBB in erythema migrans (EM) patients and the EM-free patients, in which the disease with ITBB occurred as monoinfection or was accompanied by coinfections with human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) or tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)
In the blood of EM/HGA patients and the erythema-free patients, the DNA of B. burgdorferi sensu lato was detected more frequently than in EM patients (Table 1). These results are consistent with the data on a longer incubation period [3, 14] and more intensive hematogenous dissemination of Borrelia in the erythemafree ITBB patients [5] as well as on clinical manifestations associated with B. garinii or B. afzelii infections [13]

Summary

Introduction

Ixodid Tick-Borne Borrelioses (ITBB) are etiologically independent infections of the Lyme Borreliosis group in Russia [1] They are caused by spirochetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group transmitted by ixodid ticks. Clinical manifestations of Lyme Borreliosis in the United States are differed significantly from those in Eurasia [3, 5,6,7] This is largely due to genetic heterogeneity of Borrelia that cause the disease [8]. Data were obtained that characterized the genetic polymorphism of B. garinii and B. afzelii [11, 12], the most widespread agents in Eurasia, which are etiologic agents of almost all disease cases in both Europe and Russia [3, 7].

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion