Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is a species complex of pleomorphic spirochetes, including species that cause Lyme disease (LD) in humans. In addition to classic spiral forms, these bacteria are capable of creating morphological forms referred to as round bodies and aggregates. The subject of discussion is their possible contribution to the persistence of infection or post-infection symptoms in LD. This study investigates the immunological properties of these forms by monitoring reactivity with early (n = 30) and late stage (n = 30) LD patient sera and evaluating the immune response induced by vaccination of mice. In patient sera, we found a quantitative difference in reactivity with individual morphotypes, when aggregates were recognized most intensively, but the difference was statistically significant in only half of the tested strains. In post-vaccination mouse sera, we observed a statistically significant higher reactivity with antigens p83 and p25 (OspC) in mice vaccinated with aggregates compared to mice vaccinated with spiral forms. The importance of the particulate nature of the antigen for the induction of a Th1-directed response has also been demonstrated. In any of morphological forms, the possibility of inducing antibodies cross-reacting with human nuclear and myositis specific/associated autoantigens was not confirmed by vaccination of mice.

• MeSH
• antigeny bakteriální MeSH
• Borrelia burgdorferi komplex * MeSH
• Borrelia burgdorferi * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lymeská nemoc * mikrobiologie   MeSH
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Most patients suffering from Lyme disease are effectively treated with antibiotics. In some patients, however, problems persist for a long time despite appropriate therapy. The term post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) is currently used for this condition in scientific literature. The pathogenesis is still not precisely known, but the involvement of immunopathological mechanisms is assumed. In our study, we analyzed the presence of autoantibodies including myositis-specific (MSA) and myositis-associated autoantibodies (MAA) in patients with laboratory proven history of Lyme disease and with clinical symptoms of PTLDS. A total of 59 patients meeting the criteria for PTLDS were enrolled in this study. The control group consisted of 40 patients undergoing differential diagnosis of neurological disorders without clinical and/or laboratory-proven history of Lyme disease. The presence of autoantibodies was determined by immunoblot methods and positive samples were further tested for serum creatine kinase (CK) and myoglobin levels. The presence of myositis autoantibodies was detected in 18 subjects with suspected PTLDS (30.5%), but only in 5% of control subjects exhibiting no evidence of Lyme disease history. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.002). The subsequent biochemical analysis of muscle-damage markers in positive subjects found a mild elevation in six MSA/MAA-positive PTLDS patients. The study detected raised MSA/MAA autoantibodies formation in the group of PTLDS patients raising the question about their involvement in the pathogenesis of this syndrome.

• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH