Synthesis of an experimental glycolipoprotein vaccine against Lyme disease.

A novel glycolipid was synthesized that corresponds to cholesteryl palmitoyl-galactopyranoside 1 found in the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. In order to fashion 1 in a conjugatable form, the palmitoyl residue was modified to include a terminal aldehydo moiety that anchored the glycolipid to aminooxypropylated serum albumin using oxime chemistry. The glycolipoprotein so obtained incorporates an average of 18 glycolipid moieties per albumin molecule. The novel glycolipoprotein constructs are soluble in water and are candidates toward developing a semisynthetic vaccine against Lyme disease.