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Complement evasion by Borrelia burgdorferi: it takes three to tango

Steven W de Taeye1, Lieselotte Kreuk, Alje P van Dam

  • 1Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Trends in Parasitology
|January 10, 2013
PubMed

The complement system is one of the major innate defense mechanisms Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato has to overcome to establish an infection of mammalian hosts and to cause Lyme borreliosis in humans. Borrelia prevents complement-mediated killing during host colonization through (i) recruitment of host complement regulators by Borrelia, (ii) evasion mechanisms by Borrelia itself, and (iii) exploitation of tick proteins by Borrelia. These interactions with complement can be host species-specific. This review provides an overview of interactions between Borrelia, tick, and host leading to evasion of complement-mediated killing.

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