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Wormser GP, Marques A, Pavia CS, Schwartz I, Feder HM, Pachner AR. Lack of Convincing Evidence that Borrelia burgdorferi Infection Causes Either Alzheimer's Disease or Lewy Body Dementia. Clin Infect Dis 2021; 75:342-346. [PMID: 34849631 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The role that microorganisms might have in the development of Alzheimer's disease is a topic of considerable interest. In this article we discuss whether there is credible evidence that Lyme disease is a cause of Alzheimer's disease and critically review a recent publication claiming that Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto infection, the primary cause of Lyme disease in the United States, may cause Lewy body dementia. We conclude that no convincing evidence exists that Lyme disease is a cause of either Alzheimer's disease or Lewy body dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary P Wormser
- Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA
| | - Adriana Marques
- Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Charles S Pavia
- Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, USA
| | - Ira Schwartz
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA
| | - Henry M Feder
- University of Connecticut Medical Center and Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Farmington, CT, USA and Hartford, CT, USA
| | - Andrew R Pachner
- Department of Neurology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA
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Wojciechowska-Koszko I, Mnichowska-Polanowska M, Kwiatkowski P, Roszkowska P, Sienkiewicz M, Dołęgowska B. Immunoreactivity of Polish Lyme Disease Patient Sera to Specific Borrelia Antigens-Part 1. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:diagnostics11112157. [PMID: 34829504 PMCID: PMC8625222 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11112157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The diverse clinical picture and the non-specificity of symptoms in Lyme disease (LD) require the implementation of effective diagnostics, which should take into account the heterogeneity of Borrelia antigens. According to available guidelines, laboratories should use a two-tier serological diagnosis based on the enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) screening test and confirmation of the immunoblot (IB). The aim of the study was to investigate the immunoreactivity of LD patient sera to Borrelia antigens and to attempt to identify the genospecies responsible for LD using an ELISA–IB assay combination. Eighty patients with suspected LD and 22 healthy people participated in the study. All samples were tested with ELISA and IB assays in both IgM and IgG antibodies. In the case of the ELISA assay, more positive results were obtained in the IgM class than in the IgG class. In the case of the IB assay, positive results dominated in the IgG class. Positive results obtained in the IB assay most often showed IgM antibodies against the OspC and flagellin antigens, whereas the IgG antibodies were against VlsE, BmpA, OspC, p41, and p83 antigens. The IB assay is an important part of LD serodiagnosis and should be mandatory in diagnostic laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iwona Wojciechowska-Koszko
- Department of Diagnostic Immunology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland; (P.K.); (P.R.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +48-91-466-12-59
| | - Magdalena Mnichowska-Polanowska
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland;
| | - Paweł Kwiatkowski
- Department of Diagnostic Immunology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland; (P.K.); (P.R.)
| | - Paulina Roszkowska
- Department of Diagnostic Immunology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland; (P.K.); (P.R.)
| | - Monika Sienkiewicz
- Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Microbiological Diagnostic, Medical University of Lodz, Muszynskiego St. 1, 90-151 Lodz, Poland;
| | - Barbara Dołęgowska
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Powstancow Wielkopolskich 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland;
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103
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Lee H, Lee SH, Shin S, Kwak D. Molecular Identification of Borrelia spp. from Ticks in Pastures Nearby Livestock Farms in Korea. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12111011. [PMID: 34821810 PMCID: PMC8619022 DOI: 10.3390/insects12111011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Lyme borreliosis is caused by a spirochete from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group. Borrelia afzelii and B. garinii are known to be pathogenic to humans. The main vector for Lyme borreliosis is the Ixodes tick. In this study, Borrelia infection was confirmed in Ixodes,Haemaphysalis, and Amblyomma ticks. To our knowledge Borrelia infection was first confirmed in Amblyomma testudinarium in Korea. Based on phylogenetic analysis, all sequences were aligned with B. afzelii isolates and showed a close relationship with high identity. Considering that B. afzelii causes infectious zoonotic diseases, continuous monitoring and attention are still required (although a low prevalence was recorded in this study). Abstract Ticks are vectors that spread pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. As the number of ticks increases due to climate change, the importance of the study of tick-borne pathogens has also increased. This study was conducted to investigate the distribution of the major tick species causing Lyme borreliosis and regional differences in the prevalence of Borrelia spp. by tick species. Borrelia infection was confirmed not only in Ixodes ticks, which are the major vectors of Borrelia spp., but also in Haemaphysalis and Amblyomma ticks. PCR targeting the 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region (rrf-rrl) was performed to confirm Borrelia positivity. A total of 6102 ticks (736 pools) were tested, and the proportion was Haemaphysalis longicornis nymphs and adults at 69.2%, Haemaphysalis flava nymphs and adults at 13.9%, Haemaphysalis spp. larva at 14.3%, Ixodes nipponensis at 0.8%, and Amblyomma testudinarium at 1.9%. Ixodes nipponensis showed the highest minimum infection rate (MIR: 34.00; 17 pools/50 ticks) for Borrelia spp., followed by A. testudinarium (MIR: 0.88), and H. longicornis (MIR: 0.05). In particular, to our knowledge Borrelia infection was first confirmed in A. testudinarium in Korea. As a result of phylogenetic analysis, all sequences were grouped with Borreliaafzelii isolates and showed a close relationship with high identity. Considering that B. afzelii causes infectious zoonotic diseases, continuous monitoring and attention are needed, although it has a low prevalence in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haeseung Lee
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehak-ro, Daegu 41566, Korea;
| | - Seung-Hun Lee
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, 1 Chungdae-ro, Cheongju 28644, Korea;
| | - SungShik Shin
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Gwangju 61186, Korea;
| | - Dongmi Kwak
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 80 Daehak-ro, Daegu 41566, Korea;
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Kyungpook National University, 680 Gukchaebosang-ro, Daegu 41944, Korea
- Correspondence:
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Gaur G, Sawant JY, Chavan AS, Khatri VA, Liu YH, Zhang M, Sapi E. Effect of Invasion of Borrelia burgdorferi in Normal and Neoplastic Mammary Epithelial Cells. Antibiotics (Basel) 2021; 10:antibiotics10111295. [PMID: 34827233 PMCID: PMC8614906 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics10111295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme Disease, is known to be able to disseminate and colonize various organs and tissues of its hosts, which is very crucial for its pathogenicity and survival. Recent studies have shown the presence of B. burgdorferi DNA in various breast cancer tissues, in some with poor prognosis, which raises the question about whether B. burgdorferi can interact with mammary epithelial cells and could have any effect on their physiology, including tumorigenic processes. As the model in this study, we have used MCF 10A normal and MDA-MB-231 tumorigenic mammary epithelial cells and infected both cell lines with B. burgdorferi. Our immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy results showed that B. burgdorferi is capable of invading normal epithelial and breast carcinoma cell lines within 24 h; however, the infection rate for the breast carcinoma cell lines was significantly higher. While the infection of epithelial cells with B. burgdorferi did not cause any changes in cell proliferation rates, it showed a significant effect on the invasion and migratory capacity of the breast cancer cells, but not on the normal epithelial cells, as determined by Matrigel invasion and wound healing assays. We have also found that the levels of expression of several epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers (fibronectin, vimentin, and Twist1/2) changed, with a significant increase in tissue remodeling marker (MMP-9) in MDA-MB-231 cells demonstrated by quantitative Western blot analyses. This observation further confirmed that B. burgdorferi infection can affect the in vitro migratory and invasive properties of MDA-MB-231 tumorigenic mammary epithelial cells. In summary, our results suggest that B. burgdorferi can invade breast cancer tumor cells and it can increase their tumorigenic phenotype, which urges the need for further studies on whether B. burgdorferi could have any role in breast cancer development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gauri Gaur
- Lyme Disease Research Group, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, GH 104A, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; (G.G.); (J.Y.S.); (A.S.C.); (V.A.K.); (Y.-H.L.); (M.Z.)
| | - Janhavi Y. Sawant
- Lyme Disease Research Group, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, GH 104A, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; (G.G.); (J.Y.S.); (A.S.C.); (V.A.K.); (Y.-H.L.); (M.Z.)
| | - Ankita S. Chavan
- Lyme Disease Research Group, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, GH 104A, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; (G.G.); (J.Y.S.); (A.S.C.); (V.A.K.); (Y.-H.L.); (M.Z.)
| | - Vishwa A. Khatri
- Lyme Disease Research Group, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, GH 104A, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; (G.G.); (J.Y.S.); (A.S.C.); (V.A.K.); (Y.-H.L.); (M.Z.)
| | - Yueh-Hsin Liu
- Lyme Disease Research Group, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, GH 104A, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; (G.G.); (J.Y.S.); (A.S.C.); (V.A.K.); (Y.-H.L.); (M.Z.)
| | - Min Zhang
- Lyme Disease Research Group, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, GH 104A, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; (G.G.); (J.Y.S.); (A.S.C.); (V.A.K.); (Y.-H.L.); (M.Z.)
- Department of Criminal Justice, Coppin State University, Baltimore, MD 21216, USA
| | - Eva Sapi
- Lyme Disease Research Group, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, GH 104A, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; (G.G.); (J.Y.S.); (A.S.C.); (V.A.K.); (Y.-H.L.); (M.Z.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-203-479-4552
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