Borrelia burgdorferi and its tropisms for adhesion molecules in the joint.
Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, has evolved elegant strategies for interacting with its mammalian hosts. Among them are several distinct mechanisms of adhesion to cells and extracellular matrix components. The mammalian receptors for B. burgdorferi that have been most thoroughly studied, and for which candidate bacterial ligands have been identified, are decorin, fibronectin, glycosaminoglycans, and beta3-chain integrins. This diversity of adhesion mechanisms allows B. burgdorferi to infect multiple tissues, including the synovial tissues of the joints.
New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA. jcoburn@lifespan.org
Jenifer
J
Coburn
Melisa
M
Medrano
Carla
C
Cugini
D001170:Arthritis, Infectious / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000502:physiology*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D007596:Joints / Q000382:microbiology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D013583:Synovial Membrane / Q000382:microbiology; D018523:Tropism / Q000502:physiology*
D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins