Sat Mar 22 06:20:00 UTC 2025: **VCU Researchers Identify Potential Lyme Disease Therapeutic Target**
RICHMOND, VA – Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) have identified a key enzyme, lactate dehydrogenase (BbLDH), as a potential therapeutic target for Lyme disease. The enzyme is crucial for the survival and infectivity of *Borrelia burgdorferi*, the bacteria responsible for the illness.
The study, published in *mBio*, reveals that BbLDH possesses a unique biochemical and structural feature essential for *B. burgdorferi* growth and infectivity. This makes it an ideal target for developing new Lyme disease treatments, according to Dr. Chunhao (Chris) Li of VCU’s School of Dentistry.
Lyme disease is a significant public health concern, affecting hundreds of thousands annually in the US and Europe. *B. burgdorferi* utilizes BbLDH to maintain its internal redox balance, a process vital for its survival in diverse environments, including ticks and mammalian hosts. The VCU team discovered that unlike many other organisms, *B. burgdorferi* doesn’t use thiamine; instead, it relies on BbLDH to convert pyruvate to lactate, maintaining crucial energy production and protecting against oxidative stress.
Using a multidisciplinary approach, the researchers confirmed BbLDH’s essentiality through loss-of-function studies. Furthermore, high-throughput screening identified two promising inhibitors, methoxsalen and medicarpin, both with existing applications in other areas of medicine, which showed efficacy in reducing *B. burgdorferi* growth.
Future research will focus on optimizing these inhibitors for clinical use and exploring their potential combination with other Lyme disease therapies. The team also plans to investigate their potential effectiveness against other tick-borne illnesses. This breakthrough offers a significant step towards developing novel treatments for this widespread disease.
First Piper 