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UT scientist seeks to learn more about Lyme disease |
| By
Jim Winkler |
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Mar 18, 2008 |
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| Dr. Mark Wooten studies blood serum samples from mice infected with the bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi to determine the presence of antibodies. |
Armed with a new, two-year $120,000 grant from the National Research Fund for Tick-Borne Diseases Inc., a University of Toledo microbiologist is using some cutting-edge laboratory techniques to study how the bacterium known as
Borrelia burgdorferi is transmitted by tick bites to skin tissues, where it resides for several days before disseminating to cause Lyme disease.
The studies by Dr. Mark Wooten, assistant professor of medical microbiology and immunology, are aimed at yielding important information concerning the bacterium’s ability to establish infection and cause disease in human hosts.
The bacteria are carried by tiny, blacklegged ticks that also are known as deer ticks. The ticks feed on deer, mice and other mammals, then pass the Lyme-causing bacterium to humans and domesticated animals. The ticks are particularly common in wooded areas with dense brush, tall grass and heavy leaf litter.
Over the years, doctors have struggled to treat increasing numbers of Lyme disease cases, named after the Connecticut city where the first large number of cases was identified.
Most people contract the infection in May, June and July, but symptoms often appear in late summer and early fall.
If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system, causing debilitating, chronic disease. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms such as rash and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks as traditional laboratory testing can be unreliable and is most helpful in the later stages of disease, according to Wooten.
Because the bacteria are specifically adapted to live within either tick or vertebrate hosts, studies performed in test tubes do not accurately reflect how the bacteria evade host defenses.
Little is know about how the bacteria evade capture and clearance by immune cells that reside in skin tissues.
Wooten and his colleagues recently developed powerful microscopy techniques that allow them to directly assess interactions between
B. burgdorferi and immune cells in mouse skin that should more accurately reflect how the pathogens truly act during development of Lyme disease.
His studies use novel mouse strains in which immune cells present in the skin fluoresce — glow — with a green color and bacteria glow red. Sophisticated microscopy techniques called multiphoton scanning laser microscopy visualize in real-time how the bacteria interact with host immune cells directly in skin tissues of living mice.
“The studies will help identify critical events that allow
B. burgdorferi to escape immune clearance and open the way for developing new, more targeted treatments,” Wooten said.
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