Bdr proteins and Borrelia pathogenesis

尽管有证据表明，在理解疏螺旋体感染中宿主与病原体的相互作用中，质粒编码的蛋白质是关键，但大多数这些蛋白质的功能仍不明确。由于携带的基因在很大程度上是疏螺旋体所特有的，因此它们很可能是了解疏螺旋体独特的生物学特性和致病机制的关键。BDR基因家族是一个大的、多态质粒携带的基因家族，在该属的所有物种中都有携带和表达。在伯氏疏螺旋体B31MI中，该基因家族由18个成员组成，分布于线状和环状两种质粒之间。我们已经证明，BDR蛋白被组织成不同的亚家族，与内膜相关，并随着环境条件的不同而差异表达。在这一应用中，我们提出了一种策略，以确定BDR蛋白在不同环境中的表达模式，阐明其调控机制，并测试BDR基因失活对疏螺旋体致病的影响。

While evidence suggests that plasmid encoded proteins are key in understanding the host-pathogen interaction in Borrelia infections, the functions for most of these proteins remain undefined. Since the plasmid carried genes are largely unique to the Borrelia, it is likely that they hold the key to understanding the unique attributes of Borrelia biology and pathogenesis. The bdr gene family is a large, polymorphic, plasmid carried gene family carried and expressed by all species of the genus. In Borrelia burgdorferi B31MI the gene family contains 18 members distributed among the linear and circular plasmids. We have demonstrated that the Bdr proteins are organized into distinct sub-families, are associated with the inner membrane, and are differentially expressed in response to environmental conditions. In this application we present a strategy for defining the expression patterns of the Bdr proteins in different environments, elucidating the mechanisms involved in their regulation, and for testing the effects of Bdr gene inactivation on Borrelia pathogenesis.