IMMUNOGENIC COMPOSITION, RECOMBINANT DNA SEQUENCE, EXPRESSION VECTOR, HOST CELL TRANSFORMED BY THIS EXPRESSION VECTOR, AND OSPC ANTIGENS AND THEIR USE

摘要

Disclosed is an immunogenic composition comprising (a) an amount of material comprising (i) one or more OspC antigens of Lyme disease Borrelia substantially purified from each of the 20 currently recognized OspC families of or (ii) OspC variants or OspC mimetics of said OspC antigens, said OspC variants or OspC mimetics having a structure that is sufficiently similar to native OspC to induce the production of protective immunity; and (b) a physiologically-acceptable excipient therefore, wherein said amount is sufficient to elicit, in a mammal susceptible to Lyme borreliosis, an immune response that is protective against Lyme borreliosis. The invention also comprises the use of a combination of antigens for the manufacture of a vaccine for the treatment or prevention of Lyme borreliosis in mammals. There is further disclosed a recombinant expression vector comprising the coding sequence of an OspC antigen of any of the 20 currently recognised OspC families, and a host cell transformed by this expression vector.