PMID: 15711564

Authors:

Cordes FS, Roversi P, Kraiczy P, Simon MM, Brade V, Jahraus O, Wallis R, Skerka C, Zipfel PF, Wallich R, Lea SM

Title:

A novel fold for the factor H-binding protein BbCRASP-1 of Borrelia burgdorferi.

Journal:

Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2005 Mar;12(3):276-7. Epub 2005 Feb 13.

Abstract:

Borrelia burgdorferi, a spirochete transmitted to human hosts during feeding of infected Ixodes ticks, is the causative agent of Lyme disease. Serum-resistant B. burgdorferi strains cause a chronic, multisystemic form of the disease and bind complement factor H (FH) and FH-like protein 1 (FHL-1) on the spirochete surface. Here we report the atomic structure for the key FHL-1- and FH-binding protein BbCRASP-1 and reveal a homodimer that presents a novel target for drug design.