title: Compartmentalization of antigen specific cytokine responses to the central nervous system in CNS borreliosis: secretion of IFN-gamma predominates over IL-4 secretion in response to outer surface proteins of Lyme disease Borrelia spirochetes.
abstract: The neurological manifestations of Lyme disease have been proposed to be partly due to cytokine-mediated immunopathological mechanisms. In this study, the number of Borrelia-specific cells secreting interferon-gamma and interleukin-4 was determined in blood and cerebrospinal fluid from patients with CNS borreliosis (n = 23), other neurological diseases (n = 20), and in blood from healthy controls (n = 10), utilizing an ELISPOT-assay. Elevated specific secretion of IFN-gamma was found in CNS borreliosis, most pronounced in cerebrospinal fluid, whereas secretion of IL-4 was strikingly low. This may indicate that symptoms are due to side effects of the immune response, since IFN-gamma secretion in the absence of corresponding levels of IL-4 may be associated with tissue destruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ekerfelt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ernerudh
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bunikis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vrethem
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aagesen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roberg
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergström
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Forsberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D001898:Borrelia / Q000378:metabolism; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000378:metabolism*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000939:Epitopes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013144:Spirochaetales / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D016207:Cytokines; D000939:Epitopes; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma