Interactions between host immune response and antigenic variation that control Borrelia burgdorferi population dynamics.

Interactions between host immune response and antigenic variation that control Borrelia burgdorferi population dynamics. Microbiology. 2017 Aug 04;: Authors: Zhou W, Brisson D Abstract The population dynamics of pathogens within hosts result from interactions between host immune responses and mechanisms of the pathogen to evade or resist immune responses. Vertebrate hosts have evolved adaptive immune responses to eliminate the infection, while many pathogens evade immune clearance through altering surface antigens. Such interactions can result in a characteristic pattern of pathogen population dynamics within hosts consisting of population growth after infection, rapid population decline following specific immune responses, followed by persistence at low densities during a chronic infection stage. Despite the medical importance of chronic infections, little is known about the conditions of the interactions between variable antigens and the adaptive immune system that cause the characteristic pathogen population dynamics. Using the vls antigenic variation system of the Lyme disease pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi, as a model system, we investigated conditions of the interaction between the antigenic variation system and the adaptive immune response that can explain the within-host population dynamics of B. burgdorferi using mathematical modelling. This characteristic population dynamic pattern can be explained by models that assume a v...
Source: Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Microbiology Source Type: research