Structural Mechanisms Underlying Sequence-Dependent Variations in GAG Affinities of Decorin Binding Protein A, a Borrelia Burgdorferi Adhesin

Structural mechanisms behind variations in glycosaminoglycan (GAG) affinities of decorin-binding protein As (DBPAs) from different Borrelia strains were investigated using NMR. DBPA from strain PBr was revealed to have an additional GAG-binding epitope and a retracted linker allowing more access to its GAG-binding sites.