Lyme neuroborreliosis: evidence for persistent up-regulation of Borrelia burgdorferi-reactive cells secreting interferon-gamma.
The T-cell response to the aetiologic pathogen Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi in patients with Lyme neuroborreliosis (LN) and in control patients with other neurological diseases was examined by enumerating B. burgdorferi-reactive T cells secreting interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) with an ELIspot assay. LN patients had elevated numbers of B. burgdorferi-reactive IFN-gamma secreting cells in blood and approximately 20-fold enriched in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A positive correlation existed in CSF between B. burgdorferi-reactive IFN-gamma secreting cells and B cells secreting anti-B. burgdorferi IgG antibodies. The up-regulation of antigen-specific IFN-gamma secreting cells persisted in peripheral blood up to at least 9 months and in the CSF for at least 4 months after termination of treatment with antibiotics, when the patients were mostly free from clinical signs and symptoms due to LN. How IFN-gamma interplays with other cytokines and influences the pathogenesis of LN remains to be studied.
Wang
W Z
WZ
Division of Neurology, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Fredrikson
S
S
Sun
J B
JB
Link
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H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D015854:Up-Regulation
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007371:Interferon-gamma