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Cultivation Methods of Spirochetes from Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Complex and Relapsing Fever Borrelia
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Cultivation Methods of Spirochetes from Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Complex and Relapsing Fever Borrelia

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Persistent brain infection and disease reactivation in relapsing fever borreliosis

Christer Larsson1, Marie Andersson, Jenni Pelkonen

  • 1Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.

Microbes and Infection
|June 20, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Borrelia duttonii causes relapsing fever but can persist silently in the brain. Immunosuppression can reactivate this infection, suggesting the brain may be a reservoir for Borrelia spirochetes.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Neuroscience
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Relapsing fever, caused by Borrelia spirochetes, is typically a self-limiting human infection.
  • The potential for prolonged, asymptomatic infection and reservoirs remains incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the long-term behavior of Borrelia duttonii infection in a murine model.
  • To determine if the central nervous system can act as a reservoir for Borrelia spirochetes.
  • To explore the conditions under which silent infections can be reactivated.

Main Methods:

  • Murine model of Borrelia duttonii infection.
  • Monitoring of spirochetemia and bacterial load in blood and brain tissue.
  • Analysis of host cerebral gene expression.
  • Induction of immunosuppression to assess infection reactivation.

Main Results:

  • Borrelia duttonii established a silent infection in the brain, undetectable in blood.
  • Cerebral gene expression in infected mice was similar to uninfected controls, indicating immune evasion.
  • Immunosuppression reactivated the infection, leading to significant spirochetemia.
  • The brain is proposed as a potential natural reservoir for Borrelia duttonii.

Conclusions:

  • Borrelia duttonii can establish persistent, silent infections in the brain.
  • The central nervous system may serve as a reservoir for Borrelia spirochetes.
  • Relapsing fever may involve prolonged persistence, similar to Lyme disease and syphilis.

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