Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Ecology and Evolution. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Rhode Island, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-202).

Thesis (M.A.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2006. / Thesis advisor: Kathy Martin. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Biomolecular Sciences." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-103). Also available via the World Wide Web.

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As of 2024, more than 50,000 people suffer from Lyme arthritis — a debilitating late-stage symptom of Lyme disease. Symptoms remain even after the completion of antibiotic therapy and when there is no longer any indication of an active infection. Studies have found that a portion of the bacterial cell wall from the causative agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, is a persistent antigen in Lyme arthritis patients, lingering within the synovial fluid. This antigen, peptidoglycan, is recognized by the immune system in numerous ways. Multiple publications have shown that peptidoglycan is proinflammatory and can cause arthritis when injected in vivo. The same was found to be true for B. burgdorferi peptidoglycan. Studies focused on the structure of peptidoglycan from B. burgdorferi have shown atypical differences in both glycan and peptide chemistry that likely alter immune recognition. Due to a lack of necessary enzymes and transporters B. burgdorferi are unable to recycle their peptidoglycan as they elongate and produce daughter cells. This leads to a 45% reduction of their total cell wall that is released into the environment. The work detailed below focuses on this antigen to further our knowledge as to its in vivo biodistribution pattern, half-life, and ability to induce arthritis. For these experiments B. burgdorferi peptidoglycan (pBb PG) was purified, fluorescently labeled, and tracked in vivo to study its clearance pattern and rate. Three different mouse models for Lyme arthritis were utilized in these studies and all experienced persistence of B. burgdorferi peptidoglycan in their liver for upward of 20 days. There were differences in the rate of clearance between types of mice, suggesting the involvement of host genetics. Serum collected weekly throughout this experiment showed over a log fold change in the abundance of ALT and AST levels, which indicates liver dysfunction. Proteomic analysis of the livers of mice post pBb PG injection showed altered levels of proteins important for mitochondrial function and iron homeostasis. When human PBMCs were stimulated with PG from various bacteria it was found that at 12 h pBb PG differentially expressed genes involved in energy metabolic pathways, including oxidative phosphorylation and the citric acid cycle. A subset of Lyme disease patients continue to experience symptomology even after completion of multiple rounds of antibiotics. These patients are termed to have post treatment Lyme disease syndrome and typically experience fatigue as their most common symptom. This symptom in combination with the findings of this dissertation regarding the link between pBb PG and energy metabolism warrants further investigation. Especially since this biopolymer has been found to persist in the synovial fluid of Lyme arthritis patients. Better understanding how these processes are connected could allow for the eventual development of a way to target this material for clearance, or ways to inactivate it. Both options have the potential to help alleviate the devastating symptomology experienced by patients. / Doctor of Philosophy / Lyme disease is the most common human disease originating from a nonhuman host in the United States, with the estimated number of cases ~500,000 each year. This disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, that is transmitted by the black legged tick. This disease usually causes flu-like symptoms and if left untreated can cause more severe symptomology like arthritis, carditis, and neurological symptoms. Lyme arthritis is the most common late-stage symptom of this disease. Current areas of weakness within the field include ways to diagnose this disease, the treatment options, and our understanding of how these bacteria cause the symptoms they do. Recent work has made strides in studying Lyme arthritis, suggesting a major contributing factor to be a specific component of the bacterial cell wall that continues to persist. This component is called peptidoglycan and has been found in Lyme arthritis patients even after they've finished antibiotic therapy. Studies have also shown that the structure of this cell wall component is unique in comparison to other well-known bacteria. The research conducted as a part of this dissertation aims to investigate how this bacterial peptidoglycan is able to persist within patients for so long. To study this we utilized three mouse models of Lyme disease that all develop different severities of Lyme arthritis. By isolating the peptidoglycan from B. burgdorferi and labeling it with a molecule that fluoresces, we were able to track it over time in mice. We found that in all three mouse backgrounds peptidoglycan from B. burgdorferi persists for extended periods of times in the liver. We tested peptidoglycan from other common bacteria and found that they rapidly clear the mice. This suggests that there is something about the structure of B. burgdorferi's peptidoglycan that allows it to go unnoticed by the body for so long. Since this material is persisting within the liver we wanted to test if these mice had altered liver function. We found increased serum levels of enzymes that are indicators of overall liver health, suggesting some form of dysregulation. We also measured the total abundance of proteins in the livers of these mice in comparison to healthy controls. The mice injected with B. burgdorferi peptidoglycan had changes in the level of proteins involved in energy production and iron utilization. By measuring changes in gene expression, we confirm the specificity of these results to peptidoglycan from B. burgdorferi, even when using cells isolated from humans. One of the major conundrums of Lyme disease are the patients who continue to experience symptomology even after treatment, who are referred to as having post treatment Lyme disease syndrome. The primary symptom affecting these patients is fatigue, drawing an interesting parallel to our recent studies showing that B. burgdorferi peptidoglycan seems to be impacting energy metabolism. These findings warrant further investigation into the exact way in which B. burgdorferi peptidoglycan is affecting this process, which will hopefully lead to the generation of more targeted therapies to help alleviate this symptomology.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2005 / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 210 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2017-07-21T12:10:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2010 - Rafaella Camara Teixeira.pdf: 2127524 bytes, checksum: 2f2281ce314ac38db40bc03d628e7447 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T12:10:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2010 - Rafaella Camara Teixeira.pdf: 2127524 bytes, checksum: 2f2281ce314ac38db40bc03d628e7447 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-25 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico, CNPq, Brasil. / Cell cultures provide a simplified system of observation that can be particularly useful for studies of intracellular and epicellular microorganisms. The aim of this study was to establish in vitro embryonic cells primary culture of the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus to cultivate the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi american strain G39/40. The culture was established from embryonated eggs of engorged females of R. sanguineus to 12 days after the beginning of the oviposition, using the culture medium Leibovitz's L-15B supplemented with 20% of inactivated fetal calf serum, 10% of tryptose phosphate broth, 0.1% fraction V bovine albumin, 1% of glutamine and 0.1% of gentamicin antibiotic, pH 6.8. After the formation of a monolayer, the initial culture medium L-15B was removed from the tubes and replaced by Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly medium (BSK) or BSK with L-15B without antibiotics. Spirochetes previously grown in BSK were counted and inoculated into tubes, with final concentration of approximately 6.2 x 105 spirochetes/mL. B. burgdorferi from the inoculated tubes were countered when the means showed yellow color, indicative of high acidity due to the multiplication of spirochetes. On the third day after the start of primary culture of R. sanguineus embryonic cells, we observed the fixation of cell aggregates on the surface of the bottles. From these clusters, there were several cell types, such as large fibroblast-type cells and structures like vesicles and tubes. In the second week, we observed the appearance of round or flattened epithelial-type cells, and after 21 days of culture, we realized the formation of a monolayer due to the appearance of confluent cells. The L-15B medium proved to be efficient for the development of primary culture of R. sanguineus embryonic cells. There was a great multiplication of spirochetes cultivated with cultured embryonic cells when compared to the initial concentration, as well as the spirochetes grown in the absence of the tick cells, observing an increase of 100 times the number of B. burgdorferi. Seven days after inoculation, the tubes in which we used only the BSK medium, higher concentrations of B. burgdorferi were recovered when compared to the tubes where the medium BSK and Leibovitz's L-15B were used. Regardless of the culture media tested, the final concentration of B. burgdorferi of the tubes with embryonic tick cells was lower than that of seamless embryonic cells. In observation of the culture tubes on microscopy phase contrast, spirochetes were presented adhered to epithelial-type and fibroblast-type tick cells in an epicelular way and with great motility. R. sanguineus embryonic cells grown in BSK medium, with or without B. burgdorferi inoculation, stopped its propagation, showed membrane degeneration and many of them broke away from the surface of the bottle. The cells grown in BSK and L- 15B continued to multiply, many were still intact and attached to the bottle, with the presence of tissues in development, with fewer degenerated and floating cells than those cultivated in BSK. The spirochete B. burgdorferi strain G39/40, adhered, grew, multiplied and showed great motility in cultures of embryonic cells of R. sanguineus tick, using BSK and Leibovitz?s L-15B media. / As culturas celulares oferecem um simplificado sistema de observa??o que pode ser particularmente ?til para estudos de microrganismos intracelulares e epicelulares. O objetivo deste estudo foi estabelecer cultura prim?ria in vitro de c?lulas embrion?rias do carrapato Rhipicephalus sanguineus para cultivo da espiroqueta Borrelia burgdorferi, cepa americana G39/40. A cultura foi estabelecida a partir de ovos embrionados de f?meas ingurgitadas de R. sanguineus com 12 dias ap?s o ?nicio da postura, utilizando o meio de cultivo Leibovitz?s L- 15B, suplementado com 20% de soro fetal bovino inativado, 10% de caldo triptose fosfato, 0,1% fra??o V de albumina bovina, 1% de glutamina e 0,1% de antibi?tico gentamicina, pH 6,8. Com a forma??o de uma monocamada celular, o meio de cultura inicial L-15B foi retirado dos tubos e trocado por meio Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly (BSK) ou BSK com L-15B sem antibi?tico. As espiroquetas previamente cultivadas em BSK foram contadas e inoculadas nos tubos, apresentando concentra??o final de aproximadamente 6,2 x 105 espiroquetas/mL. A contagem de B. burgdorferi dos tubos inoculados foi realizada quando o meio apresentou colora??o amarela, indicativa de elevada acidez devido ? multiplica??o das espiroquetas. No terceiro dia ap?s o in?cio da cultura prim?ria de c?lulas embrion?rias de R. sanguineus, foi poss?vel observar a fixa??o de agregados celulares na superf?cie dos frascos. A partir destes agregados, surgiram diversos tipos celulares, como grandes c?lulas fibroblast?ides e estruturas semelhantes a ves?culas e tubos. Na segunda semana, foi observado o aparecimento das c?lulas epiteli?ides ou redondas e, com 21 dias de cultivo, visualizou-se a forma??o de uma monocamada celular devido ao aspecto confluente das c?lulas. O meio de cultivo L-15B demonstrou ser eficiente para o desenvolvimento da cultura prim?ria de c?lulas embrion?rias de R. sanguineus. Houve grande multiplica??o das espiroquetas cultivadas com c?lulas embrion?rias quando comparada ? concentra??o inicial, assim como das espiroquetas cultivadas na aus?ncia das c?lulas de carrapato, observando-se um aumento em 100 vezes do n?mero de B. burgdorferi. Sete dias ap?s a inocula??o, foram recuperadas maiores concentra??es de B. burgdorferi nos tubos onde se utilizou somente o meio BSK, do que nos tubos onde foi utilizado BSK juntamente com Leibovitz?s L-15B. Independente dos meios de cultivo testados, a concentra??o final de B. burgdorferi dos tubos com c?lulas embrion?rias de carrapato foi menor do que a dos tubos sem c?lulas embrion?rias. Na observa??o dos tubos de cultivo ? microscopia de contraste de fase, as espiroquetas apresentaram-se aderidas ?s c?lulas de carrapato epiteli?ides e fibroblast?ides de maneira epicelular e com grande motilidade. As c?lulas embrion?rias de R. sanguineus cultivadas em meio BSK, com ou sem in?culo de B. burgdorferi, pararam sua multiplica??o, apresentaram degenera??o na membrana e muitas desprenderam-se da superf?cie do frasco. As c?lulas cultivadas em meio BSK e L-15B continuaram a se multiplicar, muitas ainda estavam ?ntegras e aderidas ao frasco, com presen?a de tecidos em desenvolvimento, com menos c?lulas degeneradas e flutuantes que as cultivadas somente em BSK. A espiroqueta B. burgdorferi, cepa G39/40, aderiu, cresceu, multiplicou e apresentou grande motilidade nos cultivos com c?lulas embrion?rias do carrapato R. sanguineus, utilizando meios BSK e Leibovitz?s L-15B.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Feb. 08, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-94).

Thesis--Auburn University, 2005. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2009. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Mar. 18, 2010). Thesis advisor: Graham Hickling. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.