The role of the host plasminogen activation system in transmission of and invasion by Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick-borne spirochetal agent of Lyme disease, was investigated using plasminogen (Plg)-knockout mice. PLG was not detected in spirochetes from unfed ticks, but binding occurred as ticks fed on the host's blood. Plasminogen activators were derived from the host blood meal. PLG was required for efficient dissemination of B. burgdorferi within the tick and for enhancement of spirochetemia in mice but was not critical for transmission and infection. These results provide evidence for a bacterium using a vertebrate protease to disseminate in an invertebrate vector and underscores the interplay among vector, pathogen, and host in promoting the life cycle and disease.

No abstract

Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochetal agent of Lyme disease, stimulated human peripheral blood monocytes to release pro-matrix metalloproteinase-9 (gelatinase B; pro-MMP-9) and active matrix metalloproteinase-1 (collagenase-1; MMP-1). Human neutrophils also released pro-MMP-9 and a 130-kDa protein with gelatinolytic activity in response to live B. burgdorferi. In addition, U937 cells and human keratinocyte cells were also stimulated to release pro-MMP-9 under the same conditions. However, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) released pro-MMP-9 and pro-MMP-2 in a constitutive manner and were not influenced by live spirochetes. MMPs produced by human monocytes also enhanced the penetration of B. burgdorferi through extracellular matrix component barriers in vitro. Plasmin stabilized on the surface of the Lyme disease spirochete was shown to activate pro-MMP-9 to its active form. This active form was also observed in the plasma of mice infected with a relapsing fever borrelia. These results suggest that borreliae can upregulate MMPs and possibly mediate an activation cascade initiated by plasmin bound to the microbial surface. MMPs may play a role in dissemination of the Lyme disease spirochete and in the pathogenesis of Borrelia infection.

Regulation of secretion of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) underlies the basis of numerous physiological and pathological processes in multicellular organisms. The Toll receptor family, which is conserved from Drosophila species to humans, mediates pattern recognition of a diversity of ligands involved in morphogenesis and innate immunity. Here, we show that secretion of MMP-9 is selectively induced through Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 in human and murine monocytic cells stimulated with Borrelia burgdorferi. Secretion of MMP-1 was shown to be stimulated through a pathway other than TLR2, under identical conditions. Analysis of nuclear extracts indicated that activator protein (AP)-1 was reduced in TLR2-neutralized monocytic cells, suggesting that AP-1 plays a role in the transcriptional activation of MMP-9 through TLR2. The specific induction of MMP-9 through TLR2 provides direct evidence of a new role for this ancient receptor family in regulating secretion of MMPs and demonstrates evolutionary convergence between invertebrate morphogenesis and the vertebrate innate immune system.