Immune Response to : Lessons from Lyme Disease Spirochetes.

The mammalian host responds to infection with 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 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 , the most widely studied spp. and etiologic agent of Lyme borreliosis. Pertinent literature will be reviewed with emphasis on , and animal studies that influenced our understanding of both the earliest responses to 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 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 and its relation to the outcomes in reservoir (mouse) and non-reservoir (human) hosts.