Multilocus sequence typing of clinical Borreliella afzelii strains: population structure and differential ability to disseminate in humans.

BACKGROUND: Lyme borreliosis in humans results in a range of clinical manifestations, thought to be partly due to differences in the pathogenicity of the infecting strain. This study compared European human clinical strains of Borreliella afzelii (previously named Borrelia afzelii) using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to determine their spatial distribution across Europe and to establish whether there are associations between B. afzelii genotypes and specific clinical manifestations of Lyme borreliosis. For this purpose, typing was performed on 63 strains, and data on a further 245 strains were accessed from the literature. RESULTS: All 308 strains were categorized into 149 sequence types (STs), 27 of which are described here for the first time. Phylogenetic and goeBURST analyses showed short evolutionary distances between strains. Although the main STs differed among the countries with the largest number of strains of interest (Germany, the Netherlands, France and Slovenia), the B. afzelii clinical strains were less genetically structured than those previously observed in the European tick population. Two STs were found significantly more frequently in strains associated with clinical manifestations involving erythema migrans, whereas another ST was found significantly more frequently in strains associated with disseminated manifestations, especially neuroborreliosis. CONCLUSIONS: The MLST profiles showed low genetic differentiation between B. afzelii strains isolated from patients with Lyme borreliosis in Europe. Also, clinical data analysis suggests the existence of lineages with differential dissemination properties in humans.

No evidence of Borrelia mayonii in an endemic area for Lyme borreliosis in France.

BACKGROUND: Borrelia mayonii is currently the latest species belonging to the Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) complex to be discovered. Interestingly it is involved in human pathology causing a high fever. We looked for its presence in post- tick bite febrile patients as well as in Ixodes ricinus ticks in an endemic area of France. RESULTS: After ensuring that our molecular technics correctly detected B. mayonii, 575 patients and 3,122 Ixodes ricinus nymphs were tested. Neither B. mayonii nor another species of the B. burgdorferi (s.l.) complex previously not reported in Europe has been identified. CONCLUSIONS: For now, B. mayonii seems to be an epiphenomenon. However, its discovery broadens the etiology of post-Ixodes bite febrile syndromes.

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato diversity and its influence on pathogenicity in humans.

Among the Spirochaetes, the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex is responsible for Lyme borreliosis. This complex comprises more than 13 Borrelia species. Four of them are clearly pathogenic for humans: B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. afzelii, B. garinii and B. spielmanii. They can generate erythema migrans, an initial skin lesion, and can then spread deeply into the host to invade distant tissues, especially the nervous system, the joints or the skin. In humans, Borrelia pathogenicityseems to be linked with taxonomic position, but in vitro studies show the role of plasmids in B. burgdorferi s.l. pathogenesis. The inter- and intraspecies genetic diversity of B. burgdorferi s.l. evidences a clonal evolution of the chromosome, while plasmid genes are quite variable, suggesting their major role in Borrelia adaptability. The plasmid-encoded adhesins and vlse, crasps and osp genes determine invasiveness and host immune evasion of B. burgdorferi s.l., and select the bacterial host spectrum. The geographic distribution of B. burgdorferi s.l. is closely related to its vectors and competent hosts, and its development within these influences its diversity, taxonomy and pathogenesis, primarily via genetic lateral transfer.