title: Tube phagocytosis, a novel way for neutrophils to Phagocytize borrelia burgdorferi.
abstract: Interactions between human neutrophils and Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, were studied by dark-field microscopy combined with video technology. A previously unrecognized mechanism for neutrophils to phagocytize the spirochete was discovered. During phagocytosis, the spirochete attaches to the neutrophil head-on, the neutrophil forms a thin tubelike protrusion around the bacterium, and the fully covered spirochete is drawn into the cell.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Turku University, Turku 20520, Finland. juha.suhonen@utu.fi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suhonen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hartiala
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Viljanen
mesh_terms: D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D010587:Phagocytosis