CRASP-2 (Complement Regulator-Acquiring Surface Protein 2) of Borrelia burgdorferi binds FHL-1 and factor H binding protein in a distinct way. It may be predominantly expressed by serum-resistant Borrelia strains. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato has the ability to evade immune systems to persist in a variety of...

Crasp2 is a fusion protein with an MBP tag and was expressed in E.coli. Analysis by SDS-PAGE resulted in a pattern consistent with purified Crasp2 and was estimated to be greater than 95% pure.

CRASP-2 is encoded by the spirochete B. burgdorferi, which is carried by Ixodes ticks. Strain B31 is the type strain (ATCC 35210) for this organism and was derived by limited dilutional cloning from the original Lyme-disease tick isolate obtained by A. Barbour (Johnson, et al., 1984). B. burgdorferi differ in their...