Microbes & Infection 2006 Sep 22; [Epub ahead of print]
Invasion of human neuronal and glial cells by an infectious strain of Borrelia burgdorferi.
* Livengood JA, * Gilmore RD Jr.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-borne Infectious Diseases, 3150 Rampart Road, CSU Foothills Campus, Fort Collins, CO 80522, USA.
Human infection by Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiological agent for Lyme disease, can result in serious acute and late-term disorders including neuroborreliosis, a degenerative condition of the peripheral and central nervous systems.
To examine the mechanisms involved in the cellular pathogenesis of neuroborreliosis, we investigated the ability of B. burgdorferi to attach to and/or invade a panel of human neuroglial and cortical neuronal cells.
In all neural cells tested, we observed B. burgdorferi in association with the cell by confocal microscopy.
Further analysis by differential immunofluorescent staining of external and internal organisms, and a gentamicin protection assay demonstrated an intracellular localization of B. burgdorferi. . . . internalized spirochetes were found to be viable.
Invasion of neural cells by B. burgdorferi provides a putative mechanism for the organism to avoid the host's immune response while potentially causing functional damage to neural cells during infection of the CNS.
PMID: 17045505
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