A5052270708- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Toxin Mechanisms and Immunotoxins
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Vector-Borne Animal Diseases
- Heat shock proteins research
- Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences
- Complement system in diseases
- Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research
- Trypanosoma species research and implications
- Galectins and Cancer Biology
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Leptospirosis research and findings
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Burkholderia infections and melioidosis
- Insect and Pesticide Research
- Trace Elements in Health
- Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
- Invertebrate Immune Response Mechanisms
- Parasitic infections in humans and animals
- Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery
- vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches
- Cell Adhesion Molecules Research
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
Riga Stradiņš University
2013-2025
Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre
2013-2025
Latvijas Organiskās Sintēzes Institūts
2015
Modern infectious disease outbreaks often involve changes in host tropism, the preferential adaptation of pathogens to specific hosts. The Lyme disease-causing bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi ( Bb ) is an ideal model investigate molecular mechanisms because different variants these tick-transmitted bacteria are distinctly maintained rodents or bird reservoir To survive hosts and escape complement-mediated immune clearance, produces outer surface protein CspZ that binds complement inhibitor...
Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne infectious in Europe and USA. Borrelia burgdorferi , as causative agent of disease, transmitted to mammalian host during tick blood meal. To adapt different encountered environments, has adjusted expression pattern various, mostly outer surface proteins. The function B . proteins remains unknown. We determined crystal structure a previously uncharacterized protein BBK01, known belong paralogous gene family 12 (PFam12) one its five members....
Abstract Borrelia burgdorferi ( Bb ) causes Lyme disease (LD), one of the most common vector-borne diseases in Northern Hemisphere. Here, we solve crystal structure a mutated vaccine antigen, CspZ-YA that lacks ability to bind host complement factor H (FH). We generate point mutants and identify I183Y C187S trigger more robust bactericidal responses. Compared CspZ-YA, these require lower immunization frequency protect mice from LD-associated inflammation bacterial colonization. Antigenicity...
Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent of Lyme disease and found in two different types hosts nature – Ixodes ticks various mammalian organisms. To initiate survive host organisms, B. must be able to transfer a new host, proliferate, attach tissue resist immune response. host's response, produces at least five outer surface proteins that can bind complement regulator factor H ( CFH ) and/or H‐like protein 1 CFHL ‐1). The crystal structures uniquely folded binding proteins, which belong...
Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by the transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi from infected Ixodes ticks to mammalian host during blood meal. Previous studies have shown that expression B. surface-localized lipoproteins, which include BBA64, up-regulated process tick feeding. Although exact function BBA64 not known, this lipoprotein critical for spirochete salivary glands organism after bite. Since mechanism development and functions surface lipoproteins associated with...
Abstract Borrelia (B.) bavariensis , B. burgdorferi afzelii garinii B . spielmanii and mayonii are the causative agents in Lyme disease. disease spirochetes reside infected Ixodes ticks transferred to mammalian hosts during tick feeding. Once transmitted, must overcome first line of defense innate immune system either by binding complement regulators or terminating formation membrane attack complex (MAC). In proteins BGA66 BGA71 inhibit activation interacting with late components C7, C8, C9,...
ABSTRACT Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen of Lyme disease, encodes many conserved proteins unknown structure or function, including ones that serve essential roles in microbial infectivity. One such protein is BB0238, which folds into a two-domain protein, as we have determined by X-ray crystallography and AlphaFold analysis. The N-terminal domain begins with helix-turn-helix motif (HTH), previously referred to tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) motif, known mediate protein-protein...
ATP-dependent proteases FtsH are conserved in bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts, where they play an essential role degradation of misfolded/unneeded membrane cytosolic proteins. It has also been demonstrated that the homologous protein BB0789 is crucial for mouse tick infectivity vitro growth Lyme disease-causing agent Borrelia burgdorferi. This not surprising, considering B. burgdorferi complex life cycle, residing both mammals ticks, which requires a wide range proteins short-lived...
The periplasmic lipoprotein BB 0365 of the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi is expressed throughout mammalian infection and essential for all phases infection; its function, however, remains unknown. In current study, our structural analysis revealed same fold as that found in NqrC RnfG subunits NADH :quinone ferredoxin: NAD + sodium‐translocating oxidoreductase complexes, which points to a potential role component sodium pump. Additionally, coordinated Zn 2+ by His51, His55, His140...
Abstract Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis and a life-threating disease of humans animals. Licensed killed whole-cell vaccines are available for animals; however, they do not offer heterologous protection, induce long-term or prevent renal colonization. In this study, we characterized an immunogenic Leptospira methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP) identified through reverse vaccinology approach, predicted its structure, tested protective efficacy recombinant MCP fragment in...
Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis and a life-threatening disease in humans animals. Licensed killed whole-cell vaccines are available for animals; however, they do not offer heterologous protection, induce long-term or prevent renal colonization. In this study, we characterized an immunogenic Leptospira methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP) identified through reverse vaccinology approach, predicted its structure, tested protective efficacy of recombinant MCP fragment C3H/HeJ...
VMP-like sequence (
The quality of protective immunity plays a critical role in modulating vaccine efficacy, with native antigens often not able to trigger sufficiently strong immune responses for pathogen killing. This warrants creation structure-based design, leveraging high-resolution antigen structures mutagenesis improve protein stability and efficient immunization strategies. Here, we investigated the mechanisms underlying design using CspZ-YA, from
Lyme disease is an infection caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi after it transmitted to a mammalian organism during tick blood meal. B. encodes at least 140 lipoproteins located on outer or inner membrane, thus facing surroundings periplasmic space, respectively. However, most of predicted are unknown function, and only few proteins known be essential for persistence virulence pathogen. One such protein BB0323, which indispensable cause function associated with cell fission...