NOVEL BORRELIA BURGDORFERI POLYPEPTIDES AND USES THEREOF

摘要

The present invention provides novel polypeptides which are substantially free of a B. burgdorferi spirochete or fragments thereof and which are thus useful in compositions and methods for the treatment and prevention of B. burgdorferi infection and Lyme disease. In one preferred embodiment, this invention provides modified OspA polypeptides and pharmaceutically effective compositions and methods comprising those polypeptides. A preferred modified OspA polypeptide is set forth in Figure 1, below. Preferred modified OspA polypeptides are characterized by modifications which diminish and/or ablate their ability to bind the human MHC allele DRB*0401.