The Borrelia bacterium is a master of disguise
20 May 2005
http://www.aka.fi/index.asp?id=78fc92314f6a4ed0b1dd1a690165a6ce

Borrelia bacteria are capable of masking themselves in the human body and deceiving the immune defence system. In this way they can hide in the human organism even for periods of years. In their recent studies Professor Seppo Meri and his team have managed to trace the evasive movements of the Borrelia bacterium in the body. Their work is part of the Microbes and Man research programme, jointly funded by the Academy of Finland and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research.

When they first enter the human organism, Borrelia bacteria do not always cause very intense inflammation. However, they proliferate unnoticed and later on the symptoms get worse. The immune system is unable in this situation to respond because the bacterium actively prevents any defensive reactions.

Professor Meri and his team have found that Borrelia bacteria, which are carried by ticks and birds, are capable of absorbing the protein that controls human inflammation (complement factor H). Normally, antibodies and the complement would kill off the bacteria, but this ingenious kidnap operation allows the Borrelia bacteria to disguise themselves and avoid being killed or devoured by inflammation cells. Consequently, the bacteria can continue to proliferate in the body and even reach the brain. An advanced bacterium may lead to a serious condition known as neuroborreliosis, which among other things may cause chronic headache or facial nerve paralysis.

One of the difficulties in diagnosing the symptoms caused by the Borrelia bacterium is that only half of all people who get a tick bite develop the tell-tale rash. Therefore, the bacterium often gets to make its way into the body and eventually into the bloodstream through the skin. Some one in ten patients are unable to shake off their symptoms even if they receive proper antibiotic treatment.

MICMAN is a three-year research programme in 2003-2005. The programme is a joint Finnish-Swedish venture funded by the Academy of Finland and the Swedish Strategic Research.

For further information:
- on the project: Professor Seppo Meri (University of Helsinki), tel. +358 50 581 2462, [email protected]
- on the Microbes and Man Research Programme www.aka.fi/micman and Programme Director Soile Juuti tel. +358 40 565 1529, [email protected].

Academy of Finland Communications
Tiina Pohjois-Koivisto
tel. + 358 9 7748 8327, +358 40 833 2978, [email protected]

"The KMT microcurrent technology is very effective in recognition entrainment, helping the immune cells to mount a specific and targeted attack on the invaders, sparing the body's own tissues. It breaks through one of the prime mechanisms the offending germs are using: Molecular mimicry (the pathogens present antigens on their surface that are indistinguishable from a normal body tissue).

The KMT technique also breaks another trick the spirochetes have developed: the molecular interaction that occurs between a specific Lyme virulence factor (OSpE) and a host protein fH (factor H)."