Title:Molecular Interactions During Borrelia burgdorferi Migration from the Vector to the Mammalian Nervous System
Volume: 21
Issue: 5
Author(s): Manzama-Esso Abi, Zhenhua Ji, Miaomiao Jian, Xiting Dai, Ruolan Bai, Zhe Ding, Lisha Luo, Taigui Chen, Feng Wang, Shiyuan Wen, Guozhong Zhou, Fukai Bao*Aihua Liu *
Affiliation:
- The Institute for Tropical Medicine, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650500,China
- The Institute for Tropical Medicine, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650500,China
Keywords:
Lyme borreliosis, Lyme neuroborreliosis, tick, B. burgdorferi, mammal host, molecular interaction.
Abstract: Lyme disease (LD) is an infectious disease caused by the spirochetes of genus borrelia,
which are transmitted by the ticks of the genus ixodes. LD is transmitted by the spirochete B. burgdorferi
sensu lato. Once in contact with the host through a tick bite, the pathogen comes into contact with
the host defense, and must escape this machinery to establish LD, thus using a large number of mechanisms
involving the vector of the pathogen, the pathogen itself and also the host. The initial diagnosis
of the disease can be made based on the clinical symptoms of LD and the disease can be treated and
cured with antibiotics if the diagnosis is made early in the beginning of the disease. Contrariwise, if LD
is left untreated, the pathogen disseminates throughout the tissues and organs of the body, where it
establishes different types of disease manifestations. In the nervous system, the inflammation caused
by B. burgdorferi is known as Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). LNB is one of the principal manifestations
of LD. In this review, we systematically describe the different molecular interactions among B.
burgdorferi, the vector (tick) and the mammalian host.
