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Borrelia burgdorferi protein interactions critical for microbial persistence in mammals.

Quentin BernardMeghna ThakurAlexis A SmithChrysoula KitsouXiuli YangUtpal Pal
Published in: Cellular microbiology (2018)
Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent of Lyme disease that persists in a complex enzootic life cycle, involving Ixodes ticks and vertebrate hosts. The microbe invades ticks and vertebrate hosts in spite of active immune surveillance and potent microbicidal responses, and establishes long-term infection utilising mechanisms that are yet to be unravelled. The pathogen can cause multi-system disorders when transmitted to susceptible mammalian hosts, including in humans. In the past decades, several studies identified a limited number of B. burgdorferi gene-products critical for pathogen persistence, transmission between the vectors and the host, and host-pathogen interactions. This review will focus on the interactions between B. burgdorferi proteins, as well as between microbial proteins and host components, protein and non-protein components, highlighting their roles in pathogen persistence in the mammalian host. A better understanding of the contributions of protein interactions in the microbial virulence and persistence of B. burgdorferi would support development of novel therapeutics against the infection.
Keyphrases
  • microbial community
  • protein protein
  • candida albicans
  • amino acid
  • life cycle
  • binding protein
  • pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • staphylococcus aureus
  • dna methylation
  • genome wide
  • biofilm formation