Impact of infection on induced joint pathology in mice.

Tick-borne infections are increasing in the United States and around the world. The most common tick-borne disease in the United States is Lyme disease caused by infection with the spirochete (), and pathogenesis varies from subclinical to severe. infection is transmitted by ticks, which can carry multiple other microbial pathogens, including species. To address how the simultaneous inoculation of a distinct pathogen impacted the course of -induced disease, we used C57BL/6 (B6) mice which are susceptible to infection but develop only mild joint pathology. While infection of B6 mice with alone resulted in minimal inflammatory responses, mice co-infected with both and the obligate intracellular pathogen () displayed hematologic changes, inflammatory cytokine production, and emergency myelopoiesis similar to what was observed in mice infected only with . Moreover, infection of B6 mice with alone resulted in no detectable joint inflammation, whereas mice co-infected with both and exhibited significant inflammation of the ankle joint. Our findings support the concept that co-infection with can exacerbate inflammation, resulting in more severe -induced disease.