Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by tick bites. It often causes rash, fever, headaches, fatigue, and other symptoms. Unless treated disease progression could lead to complications with the nervous system. Treatment includes antibiotics and early intervention tends to result in a full recovery. However, late-stage disease can lead to many different health complications. Since exposure to ticks occurs outside in high grass and forest shrub, it is recommended to wear longs sleeves, pants, and insect repellent to avoid tick bites. Other pre-emptive steps are being taken by scientists to prevent Lyme disease, including the development of a vaccine.
Vaccines has been developed throughout the centuries. It is derived from the observation that previously exposed individuals with a disease are immune to the same disease in the future. This idea eventually led to the concept of immune memory, where immune cells generated to target a pathogen will develop recall so that next time immune cells come into contact with the pathogen, they automatically recognize and eliminate it. Now vaccines are a form of preventative medicine in which an individual is injected with an attenuated pathogen that will trigger the immune system to generate antibodies and immune memory. For the last couple decades scientists have tried to generate a Lyme disease vaccine. There were exciting studies in the early 2000s, but nothing came to fruition. However, new invigorated interested has motivated scientists to continue developing a vaccine against Lyme disease to lower prevalence and protect patients.
A recent article in Nature Communications gives new hope for the clinical application of a Lyme disease vaccine. The article by Dr. Yi-Pin Lin and others discovered a new vaccine target on the Lyme bacterial protein structure known as CspZ. Lin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Tuft University. His research focuses on the evolutionary drivers of infectious diseases and understanding the molecular mechanisms in these pathogens that help infect host cells.
The CspZ protein is evolutionarily conserved across different Lyme strains, but never produced a strong immune response when the bacteria entered a host with a functioning immune system. To stimulate immunity, researchers engineered the protein structure of CspZ by tweaking the protein’s genetic code. As a result, mice had a strong immune response after vaccination with the engineered protein. By changing the genetic code of CspZ researchers make the molecule more stable and persist in the body to allow for the production of more antibodies. Not only does this change in Lyme vaccination produce strong immunity but generates long-lasting effects that reduce the number of boosters needed for a full effect.
This change in Lyme vaccine has the potential to effectively treat patients before coming into contact with ticks. Additionally, the work done informs scientists about the CspZ structure and the mechanism behind Lyme disease. As a result, physicians will have the opportunity to prophylactically provide a Lyme vaccine and improve the quality of life for individuals that live in rural areas or enjoy spending time in the outdoors. Lin and others hope to further test the vaccine and conduct clinical trials for high-risk patients.
