title: The cell-mediated immune response to Borrelia afzelii, garinii and burgdorferi in C57BL/6 mice is dependent on antigen specificity.
abstract: Inbred C57BL/6 mice were challenged with Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and tested for antigen-specific T-cell response in vitro. The sonicated preparations of in vitro grown spirochetes were capable of stimulating polyclonal proliferation and specific cell-mediated response, depending on duration of the cell culture. Murine splenocytes previously sensitized to B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l. ), but not those from control mice, could be induced for antigen-specific proliferation in vitro. Moreover, detectable cell-mediated response could be induced only with antigen preparations derived from a corresponding strain but not with those obtained from other Borrelia genospecies as revealed by the [(3)H]thymidine incorporation assay. The current study considers that the strict B. burgdorferi s.l. antigen-specific response may also be expected in infections in humans and contributes to the explanation of the frequently poor antibody- and cell-mediated immune response observed in patients diagnosed with Lyme disease.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical Faculty of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Malovrh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skoberne
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gruntar
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kotnik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001898:Borrelia; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D007106:Immune Sera / Q000276:immunology; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D007106:Immune Sera