Jude Marek Przyborski

Abstract Borrelia recurrentis, the agent of louse-borne relapsing fever, causes a poverty-associated, infectious disease of high mortality. Here, we identified and characterized five Complement targeting and Host Interacting proteins, ChiA to ChiE displaying immunomodulatory functions. Almost all Chi homologs inhibit complement activation by direct binding of key components, block membrane attack complex formation, and interact with plasminogen.