Next Article in Journal
Pathogenesis of Relapsing Fever
Previous Article in Journal
A Molecular Image-Based Novel Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Approach, Deepsnap-Deep Learning and Machine Learning
 
 
Current Issues in Molecular Biology is published by MDPI from Volume 43 Issue 1 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Caister Press.
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Review

Lyme Disease Pathogenesis

1
Center For Infectious Disease Research, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Rd., TBRC C3980, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
2
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
3
Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Vice Dean of Research, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111, USA
4
Immunity and Pathogenesis Division Head, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, 6900 Lake Nona Blvd., Orlando, FL 32827, USA
5
Institute of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 40, 60596 Frankfurt, Germany
6
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, P.O. Box 20708, Houston, TX 77225, USA
7
Professor and Associate Head, Texas A&M University, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX 77807, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2021, 42(1), 473-518; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.21775/cimb.042.473
Submission received: 28 September 2020 / Revised: 27 October 2020 / Accepted: 25 November 2020 / Published: 23 December 2020

Abstract

Lyme disease Borrelia are obligately parasitic, tick- transmitted, invasive, persistent bacterial pathogens that cause disease in humans and non-reservoir vertebrates primarily through the induction of inflammation. During transmission from the infected tick, the bacteria undergo significant changes in gene expression, resulting in adaptation to the mammalian environment. The organisms multiply and spread locally and induce inflammatory responses that, in humans, result in clinical signs and symptoms. Borrelia virulence involves a multiplicity of mechanisms for dissemination and colonization of multiple tissues and evasion of host immune responses. Most of the tissue damage, which is seen in non-reservoir hosts, appears to result from host inflammatory reactions, despite the low numbers of bacteria in affected sites. This host response to the Lyme disease Borrelia can cause neurologic, cardiovascular, arthritic, and dermatologic manifestations during the disseminated and persistent stages of infection. The mechanisms by which a paucity of organisms (in comparison to many other infectious diseases) can cause varied and in some cases profound inflammation and symptoms remains mysterious but are the subjects of diverse ongoing investigations. In this review, we provide an overview of virulence mechanisms and determinants for which roles have been demonstrated in vivo, primarily in mouse models of infection.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Coburn, J.; Garcia, B.; Hu, L.T.; Jewett, M.W.; Kraiczy, P.; Norris, S.J.; Skare, J. Lyme Disease Pathogenesis. Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2021, 42, 473-518. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.21775/cimb.042.473

AMA Style

Coburn J, Garcia B, Hu LT, Jewett MW, Kraiczy P, Norris SJ, Skare J. Lyme Disease Pathogenesis. Current Issues in Molecular Biology. 2021; 42(1):473-518. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.21775/cimb.042.473

Chicago/Turabian Style

Coburn, Jenifer, Brandon Garcia, Linden T. Hu, Mollie W. Jewett, Peter Kraiczy, Steven J. Norris, and Jon Skare. 2021. "Lyme Disease Pathogenesis" Current Issues in Molecular Biology 42, no. 1: 473-518. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.21775/cimb.042.473

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop