Borrelia burgdorferi RevA significantly affects pathogenicity and host response in the mouse model of Lyme disease.

Byram R1, Gaultney RA2, Floden AM2, Hellekson C2, Stone BL2, Bowman A3, Stevenson B3, Johnson BJ1, Brissette CA4.

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Abstract

The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, expresses RevA and numerous outer surface lipoproteins during mammalian infection. As an adhesin that promotes bacterial interaction with fibronectin, RevA is poised to interact with the hosts' extracellular matrix. To further define the role(s) of RevA during mammalian infection, we created a mutant that is unable to produce RevA. The mutant was still infectious to mice, although it was significantly less well able to infect cardiac tissues. Complementation of the mutant with a wild-type revA gene restored heart infectivity to wild-type levels. Additionally, revA mutants had increased evidence of arthritis, with increased fibrotic collagen deposition in tibiotarsal joints. The mutants also induced increased levels of the serum chemokine CCL2, a monocyte chemoattractant, and this increase was abolished in the complemented strain. Therefore, while revA is not absolutely essential for infection, deletion of revA had distinct effects on dissemination, arthritis severity, and host response.