Outer surface protein C (OspC) (OspC)

Outer surface protein C (OspC) is a 22-23 kDa dimeric lipoprotein located on the outer membrane of Borrelia burgdorferi, the primary causative agent of Lyme disease [5, 9]. It plays a fundamental role in the pathogen's life cycle, being essential for the migration of spirochetes from the tick midgut to the salivary glands and their subsequent transmission into the mammalian host [6, 15]. Once inside the host, OspC facilitates early infection and dissemination by binding to host factors such as plasminogen and complement component C4b, thereby aiding in immune evasion and tissue colonization [3, 5, 17]. As a highly immunogenic protein, OspC is a major target for diagnostic assays, particularly for detecting early-stage Lyme disease through IgM and IgG antibody responses [18]. It is also a prominent candidate for vaccine development, as antibodies against OspC exhibit potent borreliacidal activity [6, 13]. However, the significant antigenic variation across different Borrelia strains (with over 30 known OspC types) complicates the development of a universal vaccine [7, 10]. Current research focuses on polyvalent or chimeric vaccine strategies to overcome this diversity and provide broad-spectrum protection [7, 13].

Other names

OspCBBB1922 kDa outer surface proteinOuter surface lipoprotein Cp22

Induction of borreliacidal antibodies that neutralize spirochetes and prevent tick-to-host transmission and early mammalian infection.