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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 20, 2025

Detecting the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia Burgdorferi, in Ticks Using Nested PCR

Detecting the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia Burgdorferi, in Ticks Using Nested PCR

Published on: February 4, 2018

Complement Evasion by Lyme Disease Spirochetes.

Jon T Skare¹, Brandon L Garcia²

¹Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University, Bryan/College Station, TX, USA.

Trends in Microbiology

|June 3, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Lyme disease bacteria (Borreliella) evade the immune system's complement by using outer-surface proteins to disarm complement activities. This review details Borreliella's complement evasion strategies and recent findings.

Keywords:

Lyme disease complement evasion pathogenesis

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Last Updated: Dec 20, 2025

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Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Published on: September 28, 2022

Area of Science:

Immunology
Microbiology
Bacteriology

Background:

The complement system is a crucial part of innate immunity, essential for identifying and eliminating pathogens.
Borreliella species, transmitted by ticks, cause Lyme disease and can evade host immune defenses.
Pathogenic bacteria like Borreliella have developed mechanisms to circumvent complement-mediated destruction.

Purpose of the Study:

To review the known strategies employed by Lyme disease spirochetes to evade the complement system.
To provide an update on recent discoveries in the field of Borreliella complement evasion.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on Borreliella outer-surface lipoproteins and their interaction with complement components.
Analysis of studies detailing the manipulation of complement activities by Borreliella.

Main Results:

Borreliella species utilize outer-surface lipoproteins to bind and neutralize host complement factors.
These lipoproteins interfere with key complement functions such as opsonization, phagocyte recruitment, and bacteriolysis.
Recent research has uncovered novel mechanisms of complement evasion employed by these spirochetes.

Conclusions:

Lyme disease spirochetes possess a sophisticated repertoire of complement evasion tactics.
Understanding these mechanisms is vital for developing effective therapeutic strategies against Lyme disease.