Infection of Interleukin 17 Receptor A-Deficient C3H Mice with Borrelia burgdorferi Does Not Affect Their Development of Lyme Arthritis and Carditis.
Recently, a number of studies have reported the presence of interleukin 17 (IL-17) in patients with Lyme disease, and several murine studies have suggested a role for this cytokine in the development of Lyme arthritis. However, the role of IL-17 has not been studied using the experimental Lyme borreliosis model of infection of C3H mice with Borrelia burgdorferi. In the current study, we investigated the role of IL-17 in the development of experimental Lyme borreliosis by infecting C3H mice devoid of the common IL-17 receptor A subunit (IL-17RA) and thus deficient in most IL-17 signaling. Infection of both C3H and C3H IL-17RA(-/-) mice led to the production of high levels of IL-17 in the serum, low levels in the heart tissue, and no detectable IL-17 in the joint tissue. The development and severity of arthritis and carditis in the C3H IL-17RA(-/-) mice were similar to what was seen in wild-type C3H mice. In addition, development of antiborrelia antibodies and clearance of spirochetes from tissues were similar for the two mouse strains. These results demonstrate a limited role for IL-17 signaling through IL-17RA in the development of disease following infection of C3H mice with B. burgdorferi.
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Carrie E
CE
Lasky
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Kara E
KE
Jamison
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Darcie R
DR
Sidelinger
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Carmela L
CL
Pratt
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Guoquan
G
Zhang
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA brownchar@missouri.edu.
Charles R
CR
Brown
D000818:Animals; D001168:Arthritis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D020381:Interleukin-17 / Q000097:blood; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D053722:Receptors, Interleukin-17 / Q000172:deficiency*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
D020381:Interleukin-17; D053722:Receptors, Interleukin-17