All Posts Tagged With: "borrelia burgdorderi"

Link: http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1001144

Excerpt:

If insufficiently treated, Lyme borreliosis can evolve into an
inflammatory disorder affecting skin, joints, and the CNS. Early
innate immunity may determine host responses targeting infection.
Thus, we sought to characterize the immediate cytokine storm
associated with exposure of PBMC to moderate levels of live
Borrelia burgdorferi. Since
Th17 cytokines are connected to host defense against
extracellular bacteria, we focused on interleukin (IL)-17 and
IL-22. Here, we report that, despite induction of inflammatory
cytokines including IL-23, IL-17 remained barely detectable in
response to B. burgdorferi. In contrast, T cell-dependent
expression of IL-22 became evident within 10 h of exposure to the
spirochetes. This dichotomy was unrelated to interferon-? but to
a large part dependent on caspase-1 and IL-1 bioactivity derived
from monocytes. In fact, IL-1? as a single stimulus induced IL-22
but not IL-17. Neutrophils display antibacterial activity against
B. burgdorferi, particularly when opsonized by antibodies. Since
neutrophilic inflammation, indicative of IL-17 bioactivity, is
scarcely observed in Erythema migrans, a manifestation of skin
inflammation after infection, protective and antibacterial
properties of IL-22 may close this gap and serve essential
functions in the initial phase of spirochete infection.

Lyme disease (borreliosis) is a systemic illness resulting from infection
with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. It is transmitted to humans by the
bites of infected ticks belonging to several species of the genus Ixodes.
After the bacteria enter the body via the dermis, most patients develop the
early, localised form of Lyme disease, which is characterised by erythema
migrans and influenza-like symptoms. This disease may also affect the heart,
nervous system and joints. The neurological findings of this disease may
include peripheral and central nervous system signs.
A 21-year-old woman attended a family medicine outpatient clinic complaining
of unexplained pain and muscle power loss in her lower extremities. The
problem had started in her right leg 3 months earlier and worsened in the
last week. She had a neurology consultation and was hospitalised. Her
neurological examination revealed bilateral facial paralysis and sensory
impairment. Immunoglobulin M antibody to B. burgdorferi was positive on
Western blotting in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid. The patient was
diagnosed with subacute neuroborreliosis and treated.

Acta Neurol Belg. 2009 Dec;109(4):326-9.

Koc F, Bozdemir H, Pekoz T, Aksu HS, Ozcan S, Kurdak H.

Department of Neurology, Cukurova University School of Medicine, Adana,
Turkey.
koc.filiz@gmail.com

From the article:

The occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in
Ixodes ricinus ticks from east Poland with the use of pcr.

Sroka J, Szymanska J, Wojcik-Fatla A.

Department of Occupational Biohazards, Institute of Agricultural Medicine,
Jaczewskiego 2, 20-090 Lublin, Poland. jack@galen.imw.lublin.pl

715 Ixodes ricinus ticks from 4 regions of Lublin macroregion (Piotrowice,
Polesie National Park, Dabrowa and Leczynsko-Wlodawskie Lakeland) were examined
for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Toxoplasma gondi, using
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested-PCR methods. The clonal type of
samples tested positive for T. gondii was identified by amplification and
fragmenting with restrictions enzymes (RFLP-restriction fragment length
polymorphism). Positive results were confirmed by sequencing.

To read more: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20047269&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks
PMID: 20047269