Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Th17 Cell-Associated Response To Borrelia Burgdorferi Outer Surface Protein A, Megan Elizabeth Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Arthritis is a common symptom of Lyme disease, a debilitating condition resulting from infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. A protein found on the surface of B. burgdorferi, outer surface protein A (OspA), is known to elicit an inflammatory immune response involving T helper cells. T helper 17 (Th17) cells are associated with the inflammatory cytokines interleukin-17 (IL-17) and interleukin-23 (IL-23) and have been implicated in the development of Lyme arthritis. The objective of this thesis is to provide further characterization of the immune response to B. burgdorferi OspA. The central hypothesis of this thesis is: Vaccination with OspA will predispose mice …