A type-specific B-cell epitope at the apex of outer surface protein C (OspC) of the Lyme disease spirochete, <i>Borreliella burgdorferi</i>.

ABSTRACT: Broadly protective immunity to the Lyme disease spirochete, Borreliella burgdorferi, is constrained by antibodies against type-specific epitopes on outer surface protein C (OspC), a homodimeric helix-rich lipoprotein essential for early stages of spirochete dissemination in vertebrate hosts. However, the molecular basis for type-specific immunity has not been fully elucidated. In this report, we produced and characterized an OspC mouse monoclonal antibody, 8C1, that recognizes native and recombinant OspC type A (OspC_A) but not OspC type B or K. Epitope mapping by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) localized 8C1's epitope to a protruding ridge on the apex of OspC_Aα-helix 3 (residues 130-150) previously known to be an immunodominant region of

SUBMITTER: Vance DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11960070 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature