The interface between spirochetes and the immune response is of significant
importance to their pathogenesis and persistence. Evasion from the immune
system leads to infections that present as Leptospirosis, Syphilis, Lyme Disease and
Relapsing Fever and may lead to putative persistence and latency. Understanding
the mechanisms involved in immune evasion will shed light not only on the hostpathogen
factors involved in the process but also on how resistance to infection
leads to protection.
Broad examples include spirochetal interaction with the immune system, spirochetal
molecules involved in immune evasion and in immune activation, innate immune
responses in the skin and other compartments, factors involved in spirochetal adhesion
to the extracellular matrix, interaction of spirochetes with antigen presenting cells,
in vitro, ex vivo or in vivo, spirochetal lipoproteins and immunity.
Specific examples include innate immunity to pathogenic spirochetes (T. pallidum,
B. burgdorferi and Leptospira spp.), invasion and pathogenesis by L. interrogans,
subversion and suppression of B cell responses by B. burgdorferi, role of antibody in
clearance versus persistence of relapsing fever Borreliae, evasion of the complement
system by B. burgdorferi, immune suppression by Ixodes tick saliva for effective
transmission, adhesins and enzymes involved in dissemination of T. pallidum,
spirochetal variable surface proteins in immune evasion, intravital imaging of
pathogenic spirochetes (Borreliae and Leptospira) in host tissues, spirochete-host
surface interactions.
Additional specific examples for B. burgdorferi include novel approaches to control
infection within the vector and/or in mammal; tick innate immune defenses and
interaction of Ixodes scapularis salivary immunomodulatory molecules with human
immune cells, tick-innate immune defenses (from the perspective of the tick midgut),
mouse models of infection and genetic basis for pathogenicity, diverse roles of outer
surface protein C.
Additional specific examples for Leptospirosis include animal models of acute,
sub-lethal and persistent infection; neutrophils and innate immune response;
Toll-like receptor mediated B cell responses; markers of endothelial cell activation
for disease severity in human leptospirosis, corticosteroid treatment of advanced
human leptospirosis, and urinary biomarkers of chronic Leptospirosis.