PNNL

Abstract

Lyme disease, a condition caused by Borrelia borgdorferi sensu lato and transmitted to humans via ticks, affects approximately 676,000 individuals annually in the United States and Western Europe. Currently, there is no approved Lyme vaccine available for human use. A promising study by Tahir et al., published in Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, investigated the efficacy of mRNA and subunit vaccines targeting Lyme disease. This research demonstrated complete protection from infection in a tick-fed mouse model using an outer surface protein A (OspA) mRNA vaccine. Although mRNA vaccines have shown success against viral pathogens, their clinical application against bacterial diseases has been limited. Thus, this study represents an important step towards developing an effective mRNA vaccine against Lyme disease.