New lab model reveals why Lyme disease bacteria infiltrate the brain
Researchers have created a 3D human tissue model that shows how Lyme disease spirochetes breach the blood-brain barrier and cause neurological infection. The finding exposes critical differences between bacterial strains, potentially opening pathways for better diagnostics and treatments for a disease affecting hundreds of thousands annually in Europe and North America.
Originaltitel: 3D blood-brain barrier-organoids as a model for Lyme neuroborreliosis highlighting genospecies dependent organotropism
<p>Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), a tick-borne infection caused by spirochetes within the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.L.) complex, is among the most prevalent bacterial central nervous system (CNS) infections in Europe and the US. Here we have screened a panel of low- passage B. burgdorferi s.l. isolates using a novel, human-derived 3D blood-brain barrier (BBB)-organoid model. We show that human-derived BBB-organoids support the entry of Borrelia spirochetes, leading to swelling of the organoids and a loss of their structural integrity. The use of the BBB-organoid model highlights the organotropism between B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies and their ability to cross the BBB contributing to CNS infection.</p>