Infection of Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in North Africa

Zhioua, Elyes; Bouattour, Ali; Hu, Chang Min; Gharbi, Mohamed; Aeschliman, Andre; Ginsberg, Howard S.; Gern, Lise

doi:10.1093/jmedent/36.2.216

Cited by 41 publications

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References 25 publications

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“…However, in a study in Portugal, B. lusitaniae was the sole B. burgdorferi sensu lato species observed in I. ricinus ticks (6). Similarly, it is by far the most predominant species isolated from ticks in North Africa (35,44,46). A large diversity of the small rrf-rrl spacer was reported among the Portuguese strains (6).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, these studies suggested a higher diversity among B. lusitaniae around the Mediterranean basin. However, all these studies only focused on the small ribosomal rrf-rrl spacer and, therefore, the global diversity of this species remained unknown.Recently, we reported that B. lusitaniae was, by far, the most prevalent species, ranging from 96.6 to 100% of the B. burgdorferi sensu lato species identified in Tunisia and Morocco (35,44,46). The report of some Lyme borreliosis cases in North Africa (1, 27) and the recent isolation in Portugal of B.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Recently, we reported that B. lusitaniae was, by far, the most prevalent species, ranging from 96.6 to 100% of the B. burgdorferi sensu lato species identified in Tunisia and Morocco (35,44,46). The report of some Lyme borreliosis cases in North Africa (1, 27) and the recent isolation in Portugal of B.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Characterization of Borrelia lusitaniae Isolates Collected in Tunisia and Morocco

et al. 2005

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Borrelia lusitaniae is a species within the complex Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and is infrequently isolated in Europe. In contrast, this species is by far the most predominant in North Africa and in Portugal. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity, at several loci, of a large population of isolates from free-living Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in Tunisia and Morocco. We found a moderate diversity of the whole genome by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis as well as in the ospA gene sequences, compared to a high level of strain homogeneity in the small noncoding ribosomal spacer. In contrast, a high diversity of this locus has been previously reported for Portuguese isolates. We hypothesize that B. lusitaniae strains isolated in North Africa constitute a clone of Portuguese origin.Within the complex Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, three species, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia garinii, and Borrelia afzelii, are known to cause a broad spectrum of human manifestations that are described as Lyme borreliosis. The genetic diversity of pathogenic species has been largely investigated both at the species level and at the strain level within each species (41). Otherwise, although its pathogenicity for humans is only suspected (31, 33), Borrelia valaisiana represents a widely distributed species in ticks throughout Europe and Asia and therefore has been extensively studied (12,22,32,38,40).In contrast to these species, little data are available concerning Borrelia lusitaniae. Only sporadic isolates have been characterized from ticks collected in the Czech Republic, Moldavia, Ukraine, and Belarus (20), in Slovakia (11), in Spain (3), in Poland (25), in France (30), in Switzerland (15-17), or in Turkey (13), and these isolates did not show any significant diversity. However, a study conducted in Portugal revealed a large diversity among B. lusitaniae strains isolated from a local tick population (6). Moreover, it is noteworthy that, among the three first Portuguese isolates identified as B. lusitaniae, two different types were demonstrated (20,26). Hence, these studies suggested a higher diversity among B. lusitaniae around the Mediterranean basin. However, all these studies only focused on the small ribosomal rrf-rrl spacer and, therefore, the global diversity of this species remained unknown.Recently, we reported that B. lusitaniae was, by far, the most prevalent species, ranging from 96.6 to 100% of the B. burgdorferi sensu lato species identified in Tunisia and Morocco (35,44,46). The report of some Lyme borreliosis cases in North Africa (1, 27) and the recent isolation in Portugal of B.lusitaniae from the skin of a human patient with chronic lesions (5) prompted us to characterize this species as a potential human pathogen. Therefore, we investigated the molecular characterization and the genetic diversity of B. lusitaniae isolated from free-living Ixodes ricinus ticks in Tunisia and Morocco. For these purposes we studied two single loci (ospC and ospA) and the noncoding intergenic spacer (r...

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Characterization of Borrelia lusitaniae Isolates Collected in Tunisia and Morocco

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“…They are B. garinii, B. afzelii, B. valaisiana, and B. lusitaniae (1,6,7). The last, which was isolated from ticks for the first time in 1993 (in Portugal) (10), appears to circulate mainly around the western Mediterranean basin (1,3,6,7,14). To date, the reservoir of B. lusitaniae has not been defined, and little is known about the ecology of this genospecies.…”

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First Isolation of Borrelia lusitaniae from a Human Patient

Collares-Pereira¹,

Couceiro²,

Franca³

et al. 2004

J Clin Microbiol

180

101

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“…lusitaniae has been cultured from Ixodes ricinus and detected by PCR ampli®cation in Hyalomma marginatum ticks in Portugal [5±7], Tunisia [8], Spain [9], Moldavia, the Ukraine and the Czech Republic [10] and Slovakia [11]. Based on comparative RFLP and sequence analysis of the rrf±rrl intergenic spacer region, B. lusitaniae, speci®cally subspecies PotiB1, PotiB2 and PotiB3, form a clade distinct from other northern European isolates of Borrelia spp.…”

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A Portuguese isolate of Borrelia lusitaniae induces disease in C3H/HeN mice

Zeidner¹,

Núncio

Schneider³

et al. 2001

Journal of Medical Microbiology

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A low-passage, Portuguese isolate of Borrelia lusitaniae, strain PotiB2, was inoculated into C3H/HeN mice and disease was monitored by histopathology at 8 weeks after spirochaete challenge. Ear, heart, bladder, femoro-tibial joint, brain and spinal cord were examined. B. lusitaniae strain PotiB2 (6 of 10 mice) and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto strain N40 (9 of 10 mice) induced similar lesions in the bladder of infected mice characterised as a multifocal, lymphoid, interstitial cystitis. Moreover, both B. lusitaniae PotiB2 and B. burdorferi N40 induced lesions in the heart of infected mice. The lesions induced by B. lusitaniae PotiB2 (2 of 10 mice) were characterised as a severe, necrotising endarteritis of the aorta, with a minimal, mixed in¯ammatory in®ltrate (neutrophils, macrophages and lymphoid cells) extending into the adjacent myocardium. In contrast, B. burgdorferi N40 induced a periarteritis of the pulmonary artery (7 of 10 mice), with no involvement of the endothelium and more extensive in¯ammation and subsequent necrosis of the adjacent myocardium. This in®ltrate was composed entirely of mononuclear cells, predominantly mature lymphocytes and plasma cells. No lesions were noted in the joints or central nervous system with inoculation of strains N40 or PotiB2, and co-inoculation of either strain with Ixodes ricinus salivary gland lysate did not affect the resulting pathology. Serology, examined 8 weeks after inoculation, indicated a different reactivity in mice infected with B. lusitaniae PotiB2 compared with B. burgdorferi N40. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that mice with lesions resulting from infection with B. lusitaniae PotiB2 reacted only to the¯agellin protein (41 kDa) or to¯agellin and OspC, whereas mice infected with B. burgdorferi N40 reacted with multiple high and low mol. wt proteins, including¯agellin, p93, p39, OspA, OspB and OspC. These results indicate that B. lusitaniae PotiB2 induced pathology similar to B. burgdorferi N40 when inoculated into susceptible mice. Moreover, these results establish the ®rst animal model of disease with B. lusitaniae. This mouse model can be used to characterise the immunopathogenesis of B. lusitaniae infection and to delineate the proteins responsible for disease induction in susceptible mice.

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Infection of Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in North Africa

Cited by 41 publications

References 25 publications

Characterization of Borrelia lusitaniae Isolates Collected in Tunisia and Morocco

Characterization of Borrelia lusitaniae Isolates Collected in Tunisia and Morocco

First Isolation of Borrelia lusitaniae from a Human Patient

A Portuguese isolate of Borrelia lusitaniae induces disease in C3H/HeN mice

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