Imbalanced presence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. multilocus sequence types in clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis

Coipan, Elena Claudia; Jahfari, Setareh; Fonville, Manoj; Oei, G. Anneke; Spanjaard, Lodewijk; Takumi, Katsuhisa; Hovius, Joppe W.; Sprong, Hein

doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2016.04.019

Cited by 68 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…However, our studies on LB are limited to the Bbss species. Further studies that include B. afzelii and B. garinii spirochetes, which cause different clinical manifestations of LB [91][92][93], are necessary to explore further dissemination pathways to better understand how Borrelia spp. interact with host cells.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid clearance of Borrelia burgdorferi from the blood circulation

Liang¹,

Wang

Schorter³

et al. 2020

Parasites Vectors

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Background: Borrelia burgdorferi is a tick-borne spirochete that causes Lyme borreliosis (LB). After an initial tick bite, it spreads from the deposition site in the dermis to distant tissues of the host. It is generally believed that this spirochete disseminates via the hematogenous route. Borrelia persica causes relapsing fever and is able to replicate in the blood stream. Currently the exact dissemination pathway of LB pathogens in the host is not known and controversially discussed. Methods: In this study, we established a strict intravenous infection murine model using host-adapted spirochetes. Survival capacity and infectivity of host-adapted B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bbss) were compared to those of B. persica (Bp) after either intradermal (ID) injection into the dorsal skin of immunocompetent mice or strict intravenous (IV) inoculation via the jugular vein. By in vitro culture and PCR, viable spirochetes and their DNA load in peripheral blood were periodically monitored during a 49/50-day course post-injection, as well as in various tissue samples collected at day 49/50. Specific antibodies in individual plasma/serum samples were detected with serological methods. Results: Regardless of ID or IV injection, DNA of Bp was present in blood samples up to day 24 post-challenge, while no Bbss was detectable in the blood circulation during the complete observation period. In contrast to the brain tropism of Bp, Bbss spirochetes were found in ear, skin, joint, bladder, and heart tissue samples of only ID-inoculated mice. All tested tissues collected from IV-challenged mice were negative for traces of Bbss. ELISA testing of serum samples showed that Bp induced gradually increasing antibody levels after ID or IV inoculation, while Bbss did so only after ID injection but not after IV inoculation. Conclusions: This study allows us to draw the following conclusions: (i) Bp survives in the blood and disseminates to the host's brain via the hematogenous route; and (ii) Bbss, in contrast, is cleared rapidly from the blood stream and is a tissue-bound spirochete.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid clearance of Borrelia burgdorferi from the blood circulation

Liang¹,

Wang

Schorter³

et al. 2020

Parasites Vectors

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“…species. These databases contain all our DNA sequences from (field) isolates, together with (reference) sequences from GenBank [ 47 , 48 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogen communities of songbird-derived ticks in Europe’s low countries

et al. 2017

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BackgroundBirds play a major role in the maintenance of enzootic cycles of pathogens transmitted by ticks. Due to their mobility, they affect the spatial distribution and abundance of both ticks and pathogens. In the present study, we aim to identify members of a pathogen community [Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.), B. miyamotoi, ‘Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis’, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia helvetica] in songbird-derived ticks from 11 locations in the Netherlands and Belgium (2012–2014).ResultsOverall, 375 infested songbird individuals were captured, belonging to 35 species. Thrushes (Turdus iliacus, T. merula and T. philomelos) were trapped most often and had the highest mean infestation intensity for both Ixodes ricinus and I. frontalis. Of the 671 bird-derived ticks, 51% contained DNA of at least one pathogenic agent and 13% showed co-infections with two or more pathogens. Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) DNA was found in 34% of the ticks of which majority belong to so-called avian Borrelia species (distribution in Borrelia-infected ticks: 47% B. garinii, 34% B. valaisiana, 3% B. turdi), but also the mammal-associated B. afzelii (16%) was detected. The occurrence of B. miyamotoi was low (1%). Prevalence of R. helvetica in ticks was high (22%), while A. phagocytophilum and ‘Ca. N. mikurensis’ prevalences were 5% and 4%, respectively. The occurrence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) was positively correlated with the occurrence of ‘Ca. N. mikurensis’, reflecting variation in susceptibility among birds and/or suggesting transmission facilitation due to interactions between pathogens.ConclusionsOur findings highlight the contribution of European songbirds to co-infections in tick individuals and consequently to the exposure of humans to multiple pathogens during a tick bite. Although poorly studied, exposure to and possibly also infection with multiple tick-borne pathogens in humans seems to be the rule rather than the exception.

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“…For the MLST analysis, we used the sequences in the Borrelia MLST databases ( http://pubmlst.org/borrelia ; accessed 19 Sept 2016). The data were updated with 613 additional sequences that were obtained from a variety of sources in Europe [ 42 ]. The sequences of individual housekeeping genes were concatenated, and those that differed by one or more nucleotides were assigned allele numbers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nested coevolutionary networks shape the ecological relationships of ticks, hosts, and the Lyme disease bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) complex

et al. 2016

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BackgroundThe bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) (BBG) complex constitute a group of tick-transmitted pathogens that are linked to many vertebrate and tick species. The ecological relationships between the pathogens, the ticks and the vertebrate carriers have not been analysed. The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyse these interactions by creating a network based on a large dataset of associations. Specifically, we examined the relative positions of partners in the network, the phylogenetic diversity of the tick’s hosts and its impact on BBG circulation. The secondary aim was to evaluate the segregation of BBG strains in different vectors and reservoirs.ResultsBBG circulates through a nested recursive network of ticks and vertebrates that delineate closed clusters. Each cluster contains generalist ticks with high values of centrality as well as specialist ticks that originate nested sub-networks and that link secondary vertebrates to the cluster. These results highlighted the importance of host phylogenetic diversity for ticks in the circulation of BBG, as this diversity was correlated with high centrality values for the ticks. The ticks and BBG species in each cluster were not significantly associated with specific branches of the phylogeny of host genera (R2 = 0.156, P = 0.784 for BBG; R2 = 0.299, P = 0.699 for ticks). A few host genera had higher centrality values and thus higher importance for BBG circulation. However, the combined contribution of hosts with low centrality values could maintain active BBG foci. The results suggested that ticks do not share strains of BBG, which were highly segregated among sympatric species of ticks.ConclusionsWe conclude that BBG circulation is supported by a highly redundant network. This network includes ticks with high centrality values and high host phylogenetic diversity as well as ticks with low centrality values. This promotes ecological sub-networks and reflects the high resilience of BBG circulation. The functional redundancy in BBG circulation reduces disturbances due to the removal of vertebrates as it allows ticks to fill other biotic niches.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1803-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Imbalanced presence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. multilocus sequence types in clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis

Cited by 68 publications

References 68 publications

Rapid clearance of Borrelia burgdorferi from the blood circulation

Rapid clearance of Borrelia burgdorferi from the blood circulation

Pathogen communities of songbird-derived ticks in Europe’s low countries

Nested coevolutionary networks shape the ecological relationships of ticks, hosts, and the Lyme disease bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) complex

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