Fibroblasts Protect the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, from Ceftriaxone In Vitro

The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, can be recovered long after initial infection, even from antibiotic-treated patients, indicating that it resists eradication by host defense mechanisms and antibiotics. Since B. burgdorferi first infects skin, the possible protective effect of skin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1992-08, Vol.166 (2), p.440-444
Main Authors: Georgilis, Kostis, Peacocke, Monica, Klempner, Mark S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adenocarcinoma
Animals
Antibiotics
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Borrelia burgdorferi
Borrelia burgdorferi Group - drug effects
Borrelia burgdorferi Group - growth & development
Caco 2 cells
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Ceftriaxone - pharmacology
Cell Survival
Cells, Cultured
Colonic Neoplasms
Concise Communications
Culture Media
Cultured cells
Fibroblasts
Fibroblasts - microbiology
Fibroblasts - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Laryngeal Neoplasms
Lyme disease
Mice
Microbiology
Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains
Phagocytes
Protective effects
Spirochaetales
Tumor Cells, Cultured
Vero Cells
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Summary:The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, can be recovered long after initial infection, even from antibiotic-treated patients, indicating that it resists eradication by host defense mechanisms and antibiotics. Since B. burgdorferi first infects skin, the possible protective effect of skin fibroblasts from an antibiotic commonly used to treat Lyme disease, ceftriaxone, was examined. Human foreskin fibroblasts protected B. burgdorferi from the lethal action of a 2-day exposure to ceftriaxone at 1 µg/mL, 10–20 × MBC. In the absence of fibroblasts, organisms did not survive. Spirochetes were not protected from ceftriaxone by glutaraldehyde-fixed fibroblasts or fibroblast lysate, suggesting that a living cell was required. The ability of the organism to survive in the presence of fibroblasts was not related to its infectivity. Fibroblasts protected B. burgdorferi for at least 14 days of exposure to ceftriaxone. Mouse keratinocytes, HEp-2 cells, and Vero cells but not Caco-2 cells showed the same protective effect. Thus, several eukaryotic cell types provide the Lyme disease spirochete with a protective environment contributing to its long-term survival.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/166.2.440