Microfluidic Assays for Probing Neutrophil- < b > < i > Borrelia < /i > < /b > Interactions in Blood During Lyme Disease

In this study, we employed microfluidic tools to probe the interaction between human neutrophils and Bb and measured the activation of human neutrophils in blood samples from patients. We found that neutrophils migrate vigorously toward Bb in the presence of serum, and this process was complement-dependent. Preventing complement factor 5 cleavage or blocking complement receptors decreased neutrophil ’s ability to interact with Bb. We also found that spiking Bb directly into the blood from healthy donors induced spontaneous neutrophil motility. This response to Bb was also complement-dependent. Preventing complement factor 5 cleavage decreased spontaneous neutrophil motility in Bb-spiked blood . Moreover, we found that neutrophils in blood samples from acute LD patients displayed spontaneous motility patterns similar to those observed in Bb-spiked samples. Neutrophil motility was more robust in blood samples from LD patients than that measured in healthy and ill controls, validating the u tility of the microfluidic assay for the study of neutrophil-Bb interactions in the presence of blood.Cells Tissues Organs
Source: Cells Tissues Organs - Category: Cytology Source Type: research