Possible Lyme Disease Vaccine Identified

A combination of two recombinant bacterial proteins may serve as an effective vaccine against Lyme disease, according to Charles Pavia of New York Medical College, USA.

The vaccine consists of two proteins which are found on the surface of the causative organism, Borrelia burgdorferi, called outer surface proteins A and B (OspA and OspB). In the study, one group of mice was injected with the vaccine plus QS-21 (an adjuvant), three times at biweekly intervals, while the other received subcutaneous injections of the adjuvant alone. Two weeks after immunization, all mice were challenged with an injection of the organism.

All the vaccinated mice were protected against infection and were free of B Burgdorferi spirochetes in the blood and urinary bladder when assessed two weeks later, while in the control group, 80% of the mice became infected. Associated with this protection was the enhancement of antibody responses directed against OspA and OspB (by three to 64-fold) in mice receiving the recombinant vaccine.