@misc{12944,
  abstract     = {{Lyme borreliosis is a vector-borne disease in humans and animals caused by bacteria from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex (Bbsl). The possible transmission of Bbsl from companion animals to humans via ticks makes this disease important in terms of One Health approaches. Thus, early and accurate diagnosis and treatment are of utmost importance. Today’s standard for the detection of specific antibodies against Bbsl is a two-tiered test system based on an ELISA for screening combined with a line immunoassay (LIA) for confirmation. In this study, 200 canine and 200 equine serum samples with known antibody status were tested with two different LIAs (A and B). Results were compared regarding sensitivity, specificity, the diagnostic outcome for dogs and horses, as well as operability of the test. The results for canine serum samples corresponded to 94.0%, making both LIAs a good choice for LB diagnostic in dogs. For equine serum samples, the agreement of both tests was 65.5%, displaying the challenge equine samples still provide in LB diagnostic. Major concerns were the interpretation of the OspA antigen (AG) signal and the use of unspecific (i.e., p100/p83) or too sensitive signals on the LIA. The operability of both LIAs was equally user-friendly. Regarding the tests’ evaluation, the scanning process provided by LIA A was a major advantage considering the comparability of the tests.}},
  author       = {{Doff, Sophie and Wenderlein, Jasmin and Wiesinger, Anna and Hiereth, Stephanie and Ulrich, Sebastian and Straubinger, Reinhard}},
  booktitle    = {{Veterinary Sciences : open access journal}},
  issn         = {{2306-7381}},
  keywords     = {{antibody, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, canine, equine, serum diagnosis, line immunoassay}},
  number       = {{11}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI}},
  title        = {{{Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu-lato-Specific Antibodies in Sera of Canine and Equine Origin—A Comparative Study with Two Line Immunoassays}}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/vetsci9110633}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}

@misc{12962,
  abstract     = {{Background
Borrelia burgdorferi is a tick-borne spirochete that causes Lyme borreliosis (LB). After an initial tick bite, it spreads from the deposition site in the dermis to distant tissues of the host. It is generally believed that this spirochete disseminates via the hematogenous route. Borrelia persica causes relapsing fever and is able to replicate in the blood stream. Currently the exact dissemination pathway of LB pathogens in the host is not known and controversially discussed.
Methods
In this study, we established a strict intravenous infection murine model using host-adapted spirochetes. Survival capacity and infectivity of host-adapted B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bbss) were compared to those of B. persica (Bp) after either intradermal (ID) injection into the dorsal skin of immunocompetent mice or strict intravenous (IV) inoculation via the jugular vein. By in vitro culture and PCR, viable spirochetes and their DNA load in peripheral blood were periodically monitored during a 49/50-day course post-injection, as well as in various tissue samples collected at day 49/50. Specific antibodies in individual plasma/serum samples were detected with serological methods.
Results
Regardless of ID or IV injection, DNA of Bp was present in blood samples up to day 24 post-challenge, while no Bbss was detectable in the blood circulation during the complete observation period. In contrast to the brain tropism of Bp, Bbss spirochetes were found in ear, skin, joint, bladder, and heart tissue samples of only ID-inoculated mice. All tested tissues collected from IV-challenged mice were negative for traces of Bbss. ELISA testing of serum samples showed that Bp induced gradually increasing antibody levels after ID or IV inoculation, while Bbss did so only after ID injection but not after IV inoculation.
Conclusions
This study allows us to draw the following conclusions: (i) Bp survives in the blood and disseminates to the host’s brain via the hematogenous route; and (ii) Bbss, in contrast, is cleared rapidly from the blood stream and is a tissue-bound spirochete.}},
  author       = {{Liang, Liucun and Wang, Jinyong and Schorter, Lucas and Nguyen Trong, Thu Phong and Fell, Shari and Ulrich, Sebastian and Straubinger, Reinhard K.}},
  booktitle    = {{Parasites & vectors}},
  issn         = {{1756-3305}},
  keywords     = {{Lyme borreliosis, Borrelia burgdorferi, Tick-borne relapsing fever, Borrelia persica, Blood clearance}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central }},
  title        = {{{Rapid clearance of Borrelia burgdorferi from the blood circulation}}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s13071-020-04060-y}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}

@misc{12963,
  abstract     = {{The genus Borrelia comprises vector-borne bacterial pathogens that can severely affect human and animal health. Members of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato species complex can cause Lyme borreliosis, one of the most common vector-borne diseases in the Northern hemisphere. Besides, members of the relapsing fever group of spirochetes can cause tick-borne relapsing fever in humans and various febrile illnesses in animals in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. Borrelia spp. organisms are fastidious to cultivate and to maintain in vitro, and therefore, difficult to work with in the laboratory. Currently, borrelia identification is mainly performed using PCR and DNA sequencing methods, which can be complicated/frustrating on complex DNA templates and may still be relatively expensive. Alternative techniques such as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) are not well established for Borrelia spp., although this technique is currently one of the most used techniques for rapid identification of bacteria in microbiological diagnostic laboratories. This is mainly due to unsatisfactory results obtained by use of simple sample preparation techniques and medium-contamination obscuring the mass spectra. In addition, comprehensive libraries for Borrelia spp. MALDI-TOF MS have yet to be established. In this study, we developed a new filter-based chemical extraction technique that allows measurement of high quality Borrelia spp. spectra from less than 100,000 bacteria per spot in MALDI-TOF MS. We used 49 isolates of 13 different species to produce the largest mass-library for Borrelia spp. so far and to validate the protocol. The library was successfully established and identifies >96% of used isolates correctly to species level. Cluster analysis on the sum spectra was applied to all the different isolates, which resulted in tight cluster generation for most species. Comparative analysis of the generated cluster to a phylogeny based on concatenated multi-locus sequence typing genes provided a surprising homology. Our data demonstrate that the technique described here can be used for fast and reliable species and strain typing within the borrelia complex.}},
  author       = {{Neumann-Cip, Anna-Cathrine and Fingerle, Volker and Margos, Gabriele and Straubinger, Reinhard K. and Overzier, Evelyn and Ulrich, Sebastian and Wieser, Andreas}},
  booktitle    = {{Frontiers in Microbiology}},
  issn         = {{1664-302X}},
  keywords     = {{Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, MALDI-TOF MS, typing, sample preparation, MALDI-TOF MS library, strain typing, automatic identification}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media SA}},
  title        = {{{A Novel Rapid Sample Preparation Method for MALDI-TOF MS Permits Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Species and Isolate Differentiation}}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fmicb.2020.00690}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}