The usefulness of 'in vivo' antigens in the diagnosis of human Lyme borreliosis

A total of 161 positive sera of the IgM class against Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and 149 positive sera of the IgG class obtained from screening tests with Polish forestry workers (ELISA recombinant Borrelia IgM and IgG, Biomedica, Austria) were tested with IgM and IgG immunoblot -Borrelia LINE (Genzyme Virotech GmbH, Germany). Of the IgM ELISA-positive sera, 72% were positive using Borrelia LINE IgM. IgM antibodies against particular antigens in Borrelia LINE tests were as follows: OspC (70%), VlsE (1.8%), P39 (40%), EBV (0.6%). All sera which were positive for IgG using ELISA were also found to be positive for IgG in Borrelia LINE IgG. IgG antibodies against individual antigens using Borrelia Line tests were as follows: VlsE (100%), p39 (95%), p83 (67.5%), iv1-BBA36 (42.5%), iv2-BBO323 (72.5%), iv3-Crasp3 (50%), iv4-p4 (12.5%). Antibodies against VlsE in the IgM class undergo quick seroconversion to the IgG class (demonstrated by Borrelia LINE tests) in an ongoing infection despite a persistingly positive result for the IgM class obtained using ELISA with recombinant antigens. The presence of numerous antibodies indicates the varied immunological response against B. burgdorferi antigens. A broad range of 'in vivo' IgG class antigens may be very helpful to confirm B. burgdorferi infection using Borrelia LINE tests.