VlsE, the nexus for antigenic variation of the Lyme disease spirochete, also mediates early bacterial attachment to the host microvasculature under shear force
Title | VlsE, the nexus for antigenic variation of the Lyme disease spirochete, also mediates early bacterial attachment to the host microvasculature under shear force |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2022 |
Journal | PLos Pathogen |
Volume | 18 |
Issue | 5 |
Start Page | e1010511 |
Date Published | 05/2022 |
Authors | Tan X, Lin YP, Pereira MJ, Castellanos M, Hahn BL, Anderson P, Coburn J, Leong J, Chaconas G |
Keywords | adhesins, borrelia burgdorferi, cloning, knee joints, lysine, PCR, plasmid construction, spirochetes |
Abstract | In this research, using biochemical and genetic approaches as well as intravital imaging, we have identified VlsE as adhesin-X; it is a dermatan sulfate (DS) adhesin that efficiently promotes transient adhesion to the microvasculature under shear force via its DS binding pocket. Intravenous inoculation of mice with a low-passage infectious B. burgdorferi strain lacking both bbk32 and vlsE almost completely eliminated transient microvascular interactions. Comparative analysis of binding parameters of VlsE, BBK32 and OspC provides a possible explanation why these three DS adhesins display different functionality in terms of their ability to promote early microvascular interactions. |
URL | https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1010511 |