A recent study published in Nature Communications has revealed that a protein found in human sweat may protect against Lyme disease, a bacterial infection transmitted by ticks. This protein, known as SCGB1D2, is produced primarily by cells in the sweat glands and has been found to influence the susceptibility for Lyme disease.
The study identified two previously known variants and an unknown common missense variant at the gene encoding for SCGB1D2 protein that increases the susceptibility for Lyme disease. They found that recombinant reference SCGB1D2 protein inhibits the growth of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) in vitro more efficiently than the recombinant protein with SCGB1D2 P53L deleterious missense variant.
Approximately one-third of the population carries a genetic variant of this protein that is associated with Lyme disease in genome-wide association studies. This protein may provide some protection from Lyme disease, and researchers believe there are real implications for a preventative and possibly a therapeutic based on this protein.