Comparative reservoir competence of Peromyscus leucopus , C57BL/6J, and C3H/HeN for Borrelia burgdorferi B31

Author:

Bourgeois Jeffrey S.12ORCID,You Stephanie S.12,Clendenen Luke H.12,Shrestha Muskan12,Petnicki-Ocwieja Tanja12,Telford Sam R.23ORCID,Hu Linden T.12ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

2. Tufts University, Tufts Lyme Disease Initiative, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

3. Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Borrelia burgdorferi , a Lyme disease spirochete, causes a range of acute and chronic maladies in humans. However, a primary vertebrate reservoir in the United States, the white-footed deermouse Peromyscus leucopus , is reported not to have reduced fitness following infection. Although laboratory strains of Mus musculus mice have successfully been leveraged to model acute human Lyme disease, the ability of these rodents to model B. burgdorferi-P. leucopus interactions remains understudied. Here, we compared infection of P. leucopus with B. burgdorferi B31 with infection of the traditional B. burgdorferi murine models—C57BL/6J and C3H/HeN Mus musculus , which develop signs of inflammation akin to human disease. We find that B. burgdorferi was able to reach much higher burdens (10- to 30-times higher) in multiple M. musculus skin sites and that the overall dynamics of infection differed between the two rodent species. We also found that P. leucopus remained transmissive to larval Ixodes scapularis for a far shorter period than either M. musculus strain. In line with these observations, we found that P. leucopus does launch a modest but sustained inflammatory response against B. burgdorferi in the skin, which we hypothesize leads to reduced bacterial viability and rodent-to-tick transmission in these hosts. Similarly, we also observe evidence of inflammation in infected P. leucopus hearts. These observations provide new insight into reservoir species and the B. burgdorferi enzootic cycle. IMPORTANCE A Lyme disease-causing bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi , must alternate between infecting a vertebrate host—usually rodents or birds—and ticks. In order to be successful in that endeavor, the bacteria must avoid being killed by the vertebrate host before it can infect a new larval tick. In this work, we examine how B. burgdorferi and one of its primary vertebrate reservoirs, Peromyscus leucopus , interact during an experimental infection. We find that B. burgdorferi appears to colonize its natural host less successfully than conventional laboratory mouse models, which aligns with a sustained seemingly anti-bacterial response by P. leucopus against the microbe. These data enhance our understanding of P. leucopus host-pathogen interactions and could potentially serve as a foundation to uncover ways to disrupt the spread of B. burgdorferi in nature.

Funder

HHS | NIH | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Global Lyme Alliance

Publisher

American Society for Microbiology

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to Borrelia burgdorferi;Journal of Bacteriology;2024-08-14

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