Nonprotein Antigens of Borrelia burgdorferi

Preparative thin-layer chromatograms of chloroform-methanol extracts of Borrelia burgdorferi (B31) sonicates showed four fractions (R, values of 0.84, 0.81, 0.66 and 0.61) that stained with iodine vapors, orcinol, or phospray, suggesting the presence of lipid-, carbohydrate-, and phosphorus-containing compounds. Sera from patients with Lyme disease showed IgM or IgG antibody reactivity to hydrophobic fractions, designated F1 and F2, in both early and late stages of the disease. Lack of constitutive amino acids in these fractions was shown by protein, amino acid, and peptide detection analyses