Circulating antibody-secreting cells are a biomarker for early diagnosis in patients with Lyme disease

Diagnostic immunoassays for Lyme disease have several limitations including: 1) not all patients seroconvert; 2) seroconversion occurs later than symptom onset; and 3) serum antibody levels remain elevated long after resolution of the infection. MENSA (Medium Enriched for Newly Synthesized Antibodie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one 2023-11, Vol.18 (11), p.e0293203-e0293203
Main Authors:	Haddad, Natalie S, Nozick, Sophia, Ohanian, Shant, Smith, Robert, Elias, Susan, Auwaerter, Paul G, Lee, F Eun-Hyung, Daiss, John L
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Analysis Antibodies Antibodies, Bacterial Antibody-Producing Cells Antigens Antigens, Bacterial Biological markers Biology and Life Sciences Biomarkers Biotechnology industry Borrelia burgdorferi Care and treatment Case-Control Studies Diagnosis Early Diagnosis Genetic aspects Health aspects Humans Immune response Immunoglobulin G Lyme Disease Medicine and Health Sciences Peptides Research and Analysis Methods Viral antibodies
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Summary:	Diagnostic immunoassays for Lyme disease have several limitations including: 1) not all patients seroconvert; 2) seroconversion occurs later than symptom onset; and 3) serum antibody levels remain elevated long after resolution of the infection. MENSA (Medium Enriched for Newly Synthesized Antibodies) is a novel diagnostic fluid that contains antibodies produced in vitro by circulating antibody-secreting cells (ASC). It enables measurement of the active humoral immune response. In this observational, case-control study, we developed the MicroB-plex Anti-C6/Anti-pepC10 Immunoassay to measure antibodies specific for the Borrelia burgdorferi peptide antigens C6 and pepC10 and validated it using a CDC serum sample collection. Then we examined serum and MENSA samples from 36 uninfected Control subjects and 12 Newly Diagnosed Lyme Disease Patients. Among the CDC samples, antibodies against C6 and/or pepC10 were detected in all seropositive Lyme patients (8/8), but not in sera from seronegative patients or healthy controls (0/24). Serum antibodies against C6 and pepC10 were detected in one of 36 uninfected control subjects (1/36); none were detected in the corresponding MENSA samples (0/36). In samples from newly diagnosed patients, serum antibodies identified 8/12 patients; MENSA antibodies also detected 8/12 patients. The two measures agreed on six positive individuals and differed on four others. In combination, the serum and MENSA tests identified 10/12 early Lyme patients. Typically, serum antibodies persisted 80 days or longer while MENSA antibodies declined to baseline within 40 days of successful treatment. MENSA-based immunoassays present a promising complement to serum immunoassays for diagnosis and tracking therapeutic success in Lyme infections.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203