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Serologic analysis of dogs, horses, and cottontail rabbits for antibodies to an antigenic flagellar epitope of Borrelia burgdorferi.

Department of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.

ABSTRACT

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and immunoblots using either whole-cell lysates of Borrelia burgdorferi or an antigenic region of flagellin (41-G) as the antigen were performed, and the abilities of the two assays to detect antibodies to this spirochete in dog, cottontail rabbit, and horse sera were compared. Assays using whole-cell B. burgdorferi lysates as the antigen were more sensitive for detecting antibodies. ELISA with 41-G as the antigen were specific for Borrelia antibodies but were not as sensitive as the assays with whole-cell lysates coated to the solid phase. Use of recombinant full-length flagellin, rather than 41-G, as the antigen in immunoblots increased the sensitivity of each assay. However, antibodies to other bacterial antigens cross-react with whole flagellin and may account for false-positive results. Antibodies to B. burgdorferi outer surface protein A or B were usually undetected when the sera were tested by immunoblotting methods. Borrelia lysates or the 41-G antigen may be used in ELISA or immunoblots to document host exposure to this spirochete. The use of 41-G as the antigen may increase the specificity of an assay or help confirm the serologic diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis in dogs, horses, and cottontail rabbits.

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• MAGNARELLI, L. A., LEVY, S. A., IJDO, J. W., WU, C., PADULA, S. J., FIKRIG, E. (2001). Reactivity of dog sera to whole-cell or recombinant antigens of Borrelia burgdorferi by ELISA and immunoblot analysis. J Med Microbiol 50: 889-895 [Abstract] [Full Text]