Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Antibodies to DbpA and DbpB proteins after tick infection in dogs
By Oldenburg, Darby G et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2020·Department of Medical Research·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Detection of antibodies to decorin-binding protein A (DbpA) and DbpB after infection of dogs withby tick challenge.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 27 dogs that had been infected with ticks were tested for antibodies related to Lyme disease. Researchers found that most dogs developed high levels of IgG antibodies to a specific protein (DbpA) one month after infection, and this response continued for several months. IgG antibodies to another protein (DbpB) were also detected in many of the dogs. Importantly, dogs that had been vaccinated against Lyme disease did not show these antibodies, suggesting that the tests could help confirm Lyme disease infections in dogs. Further studies are needed to see if these antibody tests can improve diagnosis.
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Abstract
We characterized the antibody response to decorin-binding protein A (DbpA) or DbpB from immune serum samples collected from 27 dogs infected withbyticks. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies to DbpA or DbpB were rarely detected, but high levels of IgG antibodies to DbpA were detected in 16 of 27 of the immune sera collected 1 mo after infection, 20 of 25 of the sera collected after 2 mo, and each of the 23, 17, or 11 serum samples evaluated after 3, 4, or 5 mo, respectively. In addition, IgG antibodies to DbpB were detected in 22 of 27 ( = 0.005) tested dogs after 1 mo, and the frequency of detecting the antibodies thereafter closely mimicked the antibody responses to DbpA. Moreover, antibodies to DbpA or DbpB were not produced by dogs vaccinated with a whole-cellbacterin; removing the antibodies to DbpA by adsorption to recombinant DbpA (rDbpA) did not affect the reactivity detected by a rDbpB ELISA. Therefore, the findings from our preliminary study showed that antigenically distinct antibodies to DbpA or DbpB are produced reliably during canine infection with, and the response is not confounded by vaccination with a Lyme disease bacterin. Larger studies are warranted to more critically evaluate whether detecting the antibody responses can improve serodiagnostic confirmation of canine Lyme disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32194000/