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Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Complement Receptor 3-Mediated Phagocytosis Of Borrelia Burgdorferi, Kelly Lynn Hawley
Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Complement Receptor 3-Mediated Phagocytosis Of Borrelia Burgdorferi, Kelly Lynn Hawley
Open Access Dissertations
The macrophage receptors that mediate phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, are unknown despite this cell type's importance in promoting pathogen clearance and inflammation-mediated tissue damage. We now demonstrate that the β2 integrin, Complement Receptor 3 (CR3), mediates the phagocytosis of opsonized and non-opsonized spirochetes by murine macrophages and human monocytes. Although, expression of the surface proteins, CspA and OspE, protects B. burgdorferi from complement-mediated phagocytosis, the versatility of CR3 counteracts the ability of B. burgdorferi to interfere with complement activation and complement-derived opsonins, thus minimizing the bacteria's anti-complement strategy. Interaction of the spirochete with the integrin is …
Modulation Of Macrophage Responses To Borrelia Burgdorferi In Acute Murine Lyme Carditis, Chris Martin Olson
Modulation Of Macrophage Responses To Borrelia Burgdorferi In Acute Murine Lyme Carditis, Chris Martin Olson
Open Access Dissertations
The Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi is the only known human pathogen that directly activates invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. The number and activation kinetics of iNKT cells vary greatly among different strains of mice. Here, we report the role of the iNKT cell response in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease using C57BL/6 (B6) mice, a strain with optimal iNKT cell activation that is resistant to the development of spirochetal-induced inflammation. During experimental infection of B6 mice with B. burgdorferi , iNKT cells localize to the inflamed heart where they are activated by CD1d-expressing macrophages. Activation of iNKT cells …