Every other week Ruchi Shah, a junior biology major, will take a look at Stony Brook-related science news and research.

Over the past twenty years, the number of Lyme disease cases has increased 25-fold, with New York having the highest number of reports between 1990 and 2012.

Most Americans rarely perceive Lyme disease as a serious threat, mainly because the initial symptoms resemble those of the flu of other illnesses. However, according to the CDC, Lyme disease is the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the United States. 

The organism that causes Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, was first identified at Stony Brook University in 1984. A bacterial infection spread through a bite from an infected tick, the disease can result in long-term health problems like memory loss and muscle dysfunction if not treated early. 

Dr. Benjamin Luft, professor of medicine at Stony Brook University Hospital, first became interested in investigating Lyme disease after “witnessing a lack of effective diagnostic and treatment options for patients.”

Luft began his research in 1986 by collecting samples from around the world of various species of the Lyme disease bacteria, Borrelia. One of the main difficulties in creating universally effective tools to combat Lyme disease is the variety of Borrelia species, each with different protein coats.

In collaboration with scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Luft set out to create a vaccine that would be effective on all strains of Borrelia. Through the use of BNL’s synchrotron facility, scientists were able to solve the structure of the most abundant outer surface protein of Borrelia. 

Using this structure as a scaffold, Luft and his team bioengineered a unique protein that encompasses different parts of the various Borrelia species. 

Essentially, the solved protein structure was used as a template. Sections of the same protein that varied in other species were swapped into the template to create a new protein that had parts from other species and does not exist in nature.

These engineered proteins were developed into a vaccine that has now been licensed to Baxter International Inc., a U.S.-based health care company. The vaccine underwent phase one of two clinical trials in Europe and is showing safety and efficacy. 

“We’re all excited,” Luft said. “This is one of the first vaccines bioengineered in this manner. 

Luft is currently working to develop a better diagnostic test for Lyme disease. The current ELISA screening test misses the disease about 35-50 percent of the time.

Luft has created a library of proteins by sequencing the entire genome of all 22 strains of Borrelia. Through a better knowledge of the organism, Luft aims to create effective assays that will lead to more accurate diagnosis.