Infectivity of Borrelia burgdorferi Correlates with Resistance to Elimination by Phagocytic Cells

The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, causes a disseminated infection in vivo, implying resistance to clearance by phagocytic cells. Because B. burgdorferi loses its infectivity after in vitro cultivation, the relationships betweenserial passaging of the organism in vitro, its susceptib...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1991-01, Vol.163 (1), p.150-155
Main Authors: Georgilis, K., Steere, A. C., Klempner, M. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Antiserum
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Borrelia burgdorferi
Borrelia burgdorferi Group - immunology
Cells, Cultured
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Leukocytes, Mononuclear - immunology
Leukocytes, Mononuclear - microbiology
Lyme disease
Macrophages
Macrophages - immunology
Macrophages - microbiology
Major Articles
Mice
Microbiology
Neutrophils
Neutrophils - immunology
Neutrophils - microbiology
Organ Culture Techniques
Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains
Phagocytes
Phagocytosis
Plasmids
Serial Passage
Spirochaetales
Superoxides
Urinary Bladder - microbiology
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Summary:The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, causes a disseminated infection in vivo, implying resistance to clearance by phagocytic cells. Because B. burgdorferi loses its infectivity after in vitro cultivation, the relationships betweenserial passaging of the organism in vitro, its susceptibility to elimination by phagocytes, and its infectivity were examined. When three differenthigh-passagestrains wereincubated for4 h at 37°C with peripheral bloodmononuclear cells,macrophages, or polymorphonuclearneutrophils, 45%–67% of the organismswereeliminated. In contrast, twolow-passage strains wereresistant to elimination byphagocytes, and only 5%–6% of the organismswereremoved after 4 h. All five strains equally stimulated the neutrophil oxidative burst, indicating that evasionof phagocytes wasnot a result of avoidance of recognition by these cells.The two low-passage strains wereinfective when injectedinto mice,whereas the three high-passage ones werenot. These observations indicate that infectivity of the Lyme disease spirochete correlates with resistance to elimination by phagocytic cells.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/163.1.150