Hovius Joppe W R, Li Xin, Ramamoorthi Nandhini, van Dam Alje P, Barthold Stephen W, van der Poll Tom, Speelman Peter, Fikrig Erol
Section of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University, School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 2007 Mar;49(2):224-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-695X.2006.00177.x.
Ixodes ricinus ticks and mice can be infected with both Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and Borrelia garinii. The effect of coinfection with these two Borrelia species on the development of murine Lyme borreliosis is unknown. Therefore, we investigated whether coinfection with the nonarthritogenic B. garinii strain PBi and the arthritogenic B. burgdorferi sensu stricto strain B31 alters murine Lyme borreliosis. Mice simultaneously infected with PBi and B31 showed significantly more paw swelling and arthritis, long-standing spirochetemia, and higher numbers of B31 spirochetes than did mice infected with B31 alone. However, the number of PBi spirochetes was significantly lower in coinfected mice than in mice infected with PBi alone. In conclusion, simultaneous infection with B. garinii and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto results in more severe Lyme borreliosis. Moreover, we suggest that competition of the two Borrelia species within the reservoir host could have led to preferential maintenance, and a rising prevalence, of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto in European I. ricinus populations.
蓖麻硬蜱和小鼠都可感染狭义伯氏疏螺旋体和伽氏疏螺旋体。这两种伯氏疏螺旋体共感染对小鼠莱姆病发展的影响尚不清楚。因此，我们研究了非致关节炎的伽氏疏螺旋体菌株PBi和致关节炎的狭义伯氏疏螺旋体菌株B31共感染是否会改变小鼠莱姆病。同时感染PBi和B31的小鼠比单独感染B31的小鼠表现出更明显的爪肿胀和关节炎、长期螺旋体血症以及更多数量的B31螺旋体。然而，共感染小鼠体内PBi螺旋体的数量显著低于单独感染PBi的小鼠。总之，伽氏疏螺旋体和狭义伯氏疏螺旋体同时感染会导致更严重的莱姆病。此外，我们认为这两种伯氏疏螺旋体在储存宿主内的竞争可能导致狭义伯氏疏螺旋体在欧洲蓖麻硬蜱种群中得到优先维持且患病率上升。
