Is there a place for xenodiagnosis in the clinic?

Telford, Sam R.; Hu, Linden T.; Marques, Adriana

doi:10.1586/14787210.2014.966084

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 25 publications

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“…The biology underlying this question has clinical relevance. The technique called xenodiagnosisallowing naïve larvae to feed on subjects to assess infection status (Telford et al, 2014) -is being used to determine whether individuals who remain symptomatic following treatment for Lyme disease (see below) harbor spirochete "persisters" (Marques et al, 2014). The rationale for xenodiagnosis as a diagnostic tool becomes cloudy if untreated individuals cannot infect ticks (Bockenstedt and Radolf, 2014).…”

Section: Differential Gene Expression -Tick Transmission and Back Againmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lyme Disease in Humans

Radolf¹,

Strle²,

Lemieux³

et al. 2022

Current Issues in Molecular Biology

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Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis) is a tick-borne, zoonosis of adults and children caused by genospecies of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex. The ailment, widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, continues to increase globally due to multiple environmental factors, coupled with increased incursion of humans into habitats that harbor the spirochete. B. burgdorferi sensu lato is transmitted by ticks from the Ixodes ricinus complex. In North America, B. burgdorferi causes nearly all infections; in Europe, B. afzelii and B. garinii are most associated with human disease. The spirochete's unusual fragmented genome encodes a plethora of differentially expressed outer surface lipoproteins that play a seminal role in the bacterium's ability to sustain itself within its enzootic cycle and cause disease when transmitted to its incidental human host. Tissue damage and symptomatology (i.e., clinical manifestations) result from the inflammatory response elicited by the bacterium and its constituents. The deposition of spirochetes into human dermal tissue generates a local inflammatory response that manifests as erythema migrans (EM), the hallmark skin lesion. If treated appropriately and early, the prognosis is excellent. However, in untreated patients, the disease may present with a wide range of clinical manifestations, most commonly involving the central nervous system, joints, or heart. A small percentage (~10%) of patients may go on to develop a poorly defined fibromyalgia-like illness, post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD) unresponsive to prolonged antimicrobial therapy. Below we integrate current knowledge regarding the ecologic, epidemiologic, microbiologic, and immunologic facets of Lyme disease into a conceptual framework that sheds light on the disorder that healthcare providers encounter. caister.com/cimb 333 Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. Vol. 42 Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 42: 333-384. caister.com/cimb Lyme Disease in Humans Radolf et al.

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Section: Differential Gene Expression -Tick Transmission and Back Againmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lyme Disease in Humans

Radolf¹,

Strle²,

Lemieux³

et al. 2022

Current Issues in Molecular Biology

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Xenodiagnosis Using Ixodes scapularis Larval Ticks in Humans

Turk

Williams

Marques

2017

Methods in Molecular Biology

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Xenodiagnosis is the use of a natural vector to detect the presence of an organism, and xenodiagnosis using Ixodes ticks has long been used by entomologists in Lyme disease research to provide evidence of the host's infectious status with Borrelia burgdorferi. We developed the methodology and performed the first human research study using uninfected larval Ixodes scapularis ticks to assess evidence of B. burgdorferi infection. Here, we describe in detail the methodology used for the procedure. Xenodiagnosis using Ixodes ticks in humans remains an experimental method and must be performed under an approved clinical research protocol.

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