Identification of Lyme borreliae proteins promoting vertebrate host blood-specific spirochete survival in Ixodes scapularis nymphs using artificial feeding chambers.

ABSTRACT: Lyme borreliosis, the most common vector-borne illness in Europe and the United States, is caused by spirochetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex and transmitted by Ixodes ticks. In humans, the spirochetes disseminate from the tick bite site to multiple tissues, leading to serious clinical manifestations. The ability of spirochetes to survive in ticks during blood feeding is thought to be essential for Lyme borreliae to be transmitted to different vertebrate hosts. This ability is partly attributed to several B. burgdorferi proteins, including BBA52 and Lp6.6, which promote spirochete survival in nymphal ticks feeding on mice. One of the strategies to identify such proteins without using live animals is to feed B. burgdorferi-infected ticks on blood via artificial feeding cha

SUBMITTER: Hart T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6035877 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature