ArticlePloS one2015
Evaluation of the Importance of VlsE Antigenic Variation for the Enzootic Cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Many hosts, many solutions: How reservoirs shape Borrelia protein diversity.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Efficacy of Purified Borrelial Lipoproteins (PBL) as an oral formulation in reducing transmission of Lyme spirochetes from reservoir hosts tobioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Testing the capacity of humanized immune system mice to induce a protective antibody response against the Lyme disease pathogen.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- From forest floor to doctor's office: the immunological journey ofFrontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Comparative Genomics of Two Newly Sequenced Rodent-Derived and One Previously Reported Tick-DerivedPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- DifferentiatingInfection and immunity · 2025Article
- Adaptive immunity inApplied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Do white-footed mice, the main reservoir of the Lyme disease pathogen in the United States, clinically respond to the borrelial tenancy?Infection and immunity · 2024Article
- Hitchhiker's Guide toJournal of bacteriology · 2024Review
- Comparative reservoir competence ofApplied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Meta-analysis of the Vmp-like sequences of Lyme diseaseFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Comparative transcriptome analysis ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- The Putative Endonuclease Activity of MutL Is Required for the Segmental Gene Conversion Events That Drive Antigenic Variation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- The Brilliance ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Lyme Disease Pathogenesis.Current issues in molecular biology · 2021Review
- Serologic Evidence for the Exposure of Eastern Coyotes (mSphere · 2020Article
- The Borrelia burgdorferi VlsE Lipoprotein Prevents Antibody Binding to an Arthritis-Related Surface Antigen.Cell reports · 2020Article
- Changing of the guard: How the Lyme disease spirochete subverts the host immune response.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Efficient acquisition and transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi by the tick vector, and the ability to persistently infect both vector and host, are important elements for the life cycle of the Lyme disease pathogen. Previous work has provided strong evidence implicating the significance of the vls locus for B. burgdorferi persistence. However, studies involving vls mutant clones have thus far only utilized in vitro-grown or host-adapted spirochetes and laboratory strains of mice. Additionally, the effects of vls mutation on tick acquisition and transmission has not yet been tested. Thus, the importance of VlsE antigenic variation for persistent infection of the natural reservoir host, and for the B. burgdorferi enzootic life cycle in general, has not been examined to date. In the current work, Ixodes scapularis and Peromyscus maniculatus were infected with different vls mutant clones to study the importance of the vls locus for the enzootic cycle of the Lyme disease pathogen. The findings highlight the significance of the vls system for long-term infection of the natural reservoir host, and show that VlsE antigenic variability is advantageous for efficient tick acquisition of B. burgdorferi from the mammalian reservoir. The data also indicate that the adaptation state of infecting spirochetes influences B. burgdorferi avoidance from host antibodies, which may be in part due to its respective VlsE expression levels. Overall, the current findings provide the most direct evidence on the importance of VlsE for the enzootic cycle of Lyme disease spirochetes, and underscore the significance of VlsE antigenic variation for maintaining B. burgdorferi in nature.
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