Borrelia burgdorferi Infection-Induced Persistent IgM Secretion Controls Bacteremia, but Not Bacterial Dissemination or Tissue Burden.

ABSTRACT: Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease in humans. In small rodents, the natural reservoir species of this spirochete, infections lead to only modest disease manifestations, despite causing persistence infection. Although B cell responses are central for controlling bacterial tissue burden and disease manifestations, they lack classical aspects of T-dependent responses, such as sustained IgG affinity maturation and longevity, corresponding with a rapid collapse of germinal centers. Instead, the Ab response is characterized by strong and ongoing secretion of IgM, whose origins and impact on protective immunity to B. burgdorferi remain unknown. In this article, we demonstrate that B. burgdorferi infection-induced IgM in mice was produced continuously, mainly by conventional B

SUBMITTER: Hastey CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10843262 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature