Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Oct-Dec;60(4):353-364.
doi: 10.4103/0972-9062.383641.

Recombinant protein immunoblots for differential diagnosis of tick-borne relapsing fever and Lyme disease

Jyotsna S Shah  1 , Joseph J Burrascano  2 , Ranjan Ramasamy  3
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Recombinant protein immunoblots for differential diagnosis of tick-borne relapsing fever and Lyme disease

Jyotsna S Shah et al. J Vector Borne Dis. 2023 Oct-Dec.
Free article

Abstract

Lyme disease (LD) is caused by a group of tick-borne bacteria of the genus Borrelia termed Lyme disease Borreliae (LDB). The detection of serum antibodies to specific LDB antigens is widely used to support diagnosis of LD. Recent findings highlight a need for serological tests that can differentiate LD from tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) caused by a separate group of Borrelia species termed relapsing fever Borreliae. This is because LD and TBRF share some clinical symptoms and can occur in overlapping locations. The development of serological tests for TBRF is at an early stage compared with LD. This article reviews the application of line immunoblots (IBs), where recombinant proteins applied as lines on nitrocellulose membrane strips are used to detect antibodies in patient sera, for the diagnosis and differentiation of LD and TBRF.

Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; Lyme disease; borreliosis; relapsing fever Borreliae; tick-borne diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer