title: Interaction of Lyme disease spirochetes with cultured eucaryotic cells.
abstract: The association of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, with cultured human endothelial cells was investigated. Attachment was time and temperature dependent, with optimal adherence occurring after 4 h of incubation at 37 degrees C. Pretreatment of borreliae with heat, immune human serum, or monoclonal antibodies directed against outer surface protein B (OspB) reduced the attachment of organisms to host cell monolayers. These results suggest that the adherence of B. burgdorferi may be mediated, at least in part, by borrelial surface proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103.
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Comstock
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001898:Borrelia / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology*