Dept. of Medical Microbiology, Centre of Infectious Diseases, Leiden University Medical Centre, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. N.D.van
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2011 Mar;2(1):20-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2010.10.003. Epub 2010 Nov 26.
B. burgdorferi, B. afzelii, and B. bavariensis show resistance to mouse and human complement. B. garinii and B. valaisiana are sensitive to mouse and human complement. We evaluated whether the absence of C3 in mice influenced infectivity and pathogenicity of different Borrelia species. C3 knockout mice (C3-/-) and syngeneic C57Bl/6 wild-type (WT) mice were challenged with 5 different Borrelia species. After 2 weeks, quantitative PCR (qPCR), culture, histopathology, and immunofluorescence were performed on heart, joint, brain, bladder, and skin. Spirochaetes were detected by qPCR after infection with B. burgdorferi, B. afzelii, or B. bavariensis strains. In joints of C3-/-, but not WT mice challenged with B. burgdorferi, spirochaetes were detected by qPCR. No other significant differences between C3-/- and WT mice were seen. Histopathology demonstrated concordance between borrelia load and inflammation score. Only after B. burgdorferi and B. afzelii infection, spirochaetes were detected by immunofluorescence microscopy. B. burgdorferi was cultured from heart, joint, bladder, and skin from all mice within 2 weeks. B. afzelii and B. bavariensis grew only from heart tissue from both C3-/- and WT mice after 2-6 weeks. The infectivity and pathogenicity of complement-resistant Borrelia strains is unchanged in complement-deficient mice. Complement-susceptible strains do not become infectious in the absence of C3.
伯氏疏螺旋体、阿菲波氏疏螺旋体和巴伐利亚疏螺旋体对鼠和人补体具有抗性。加氏疏螺旋体和瓦氏疏螺旋体对鼠和人补体敏感。我们评估了 C3 在小鼠中的缺失是否会影响不同伯氏疏螺旋体物种的感染性和致病性。C3 敲除小鼠（C3-/-）和同基因 C57Bl/6 野生型（WT）小鼠用 5 种不同的伯氏疏螺旋体物种进行攻毒。2 周后，对心脏、关节、脑、膀胱和皮肤进行定量 PCR（qPCR）、培养、组织病理学和免疫荧光检测。用 qPCR 检测感染伯氏疏螺旋体、阿菲波氏疏螺旋体或巴伐利亚疏螺旋体菌株后的螺旋体。在感染伯氏疏螺旋体的 C3-/-小鼠的关节中，但在 WT 小鼠中未检测到 qPCR 检测到的螺旋体。在 C3-/-和 WT 小鼠之间未观察到其他显著差异。组织病理学显示出与伯氏疏螺旋体负荷和炎症评分之间的一致性。只有在感染伯氏疏螺旋体和阿菲波氏疏螺旋体后，才能通过免疫荧光显微镜检测到螺旋体。在 2 周内，从所有小鼠的心脏、关节、膀胱和皮肤中培养出伯氏疏螺旋体。在 2-6 周后，阿菲波氏疏螺旋体和巴伐利亚疏螺旋体仅从 C3-/-和 WT 小鼠的心脏组织中生长。在补体缺陷小鼠中，补体抗性伯氏疏螺旋体菌株的感染性和致病性保持不变。在缺乏 C3 的情况下，补体敏感株不会变得具有传染性。
