Abstract
The mammalian host responds to infection with Borrelia spirochetes through a highly orchestrated immune defense involving innate and adaptive effector functions aimed toward limiting pathogen burdens, minimizing tissue injury, and preventing subsequent reinfection. The evolutionary adaptation of Borrelia spirochetes to their reservoir mammalian hosts may allow for its persistence despite this immune defense. This review summarizes our current understanding of the host immune response to B. burgdorferi sensu lato, the most widely studied Borrelia spp. and etiologic agent of Lyme borreliosis. Pertinent literature will be reviewed with emphasis on in vitro, ex vivo and animal studies that influenced our understanding of both the earliest responses to B. burgdorferi as it enters the mammalian host and those that evolve as spirochetes disseminate and establish infection in multiple tissues. Our focus is on the immune response of inbred mice, the most commonly studied animal model of B. burgdorferi infection and surrogate for one of this pathogen's principle natural reservoir hosts, the white-footed deer mouse. Comparison will be made to the immune responses of humans with Lyme borreliosis. Our goal is to provide an understanding of the dynamics of the mammalian immune response during infection with B. burgdorferi and its relation to the outcomes in reservoir (mouse) and non-reservoir (human) hosts.
Highlights
The mammalian immune system is critical for host defense against infection and for establishing memory responses that can respond rapidly to prevent or limit re-infection (Medzhitov, 2008).Sensor cells located in barrier tissues throughout the body play important roles in distinguishing pathogens as foreign (Murphy and Weaver, 2017)
The goal of this review is to provide an understanding of the dynamics of the mammalian immune response during infection with Borrelia burgdorferi and how this response affects pathogen elimination and persistence
B. burgdorferi has been sighted rarely inside cells, both ex vivo and in vitro studies of its genome and its mechanisms for immune evasion, which are directed toward subverting phagocyte, antibody, and complementmediated destruction, point over-whelmingly toward its residing in the host extracellularly (Hyde, 2017; Lin et al, 2020)
Summary
Sensor cells located in barrier tissues throughout the body play important roles in distinguishing pathogens as foreign (Murphy and Weaver, 2017). These cells orchestrate immune responses that evolutionarily have been selected as effective at controlling the perceived threat, either by its elimination or by limiting the pathogen burden and adverse effects on the host. The goal of this review is to provide an understanding of the dynamics of the mammalian immune response during infection with Borrelia burgdorferi and how this response affects pathogen elimination and persistence. The factors that allow for this state of “concomitant immunity” await a better understanding of the genetic and antigenic composition of spirochetes that persist within the immunocompetent vertebrate host
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