Seroprevalence of Antibodies against Tick-Borne Pathogens in Czech Patients with Suspected Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

Sloupenska, Kristyna; Dolezilkova, Jana; Koubkova, Barbora; Hutyrová, Beáta; Racanský, Mojmír; Horák, Pavel; Golovchenko, Maryna; Raška, Milan; Rudenko, Nataliia; Křupka, Michal

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9112217

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…In previous publications, autoantibodies to various other antigens have been described in patients with complicated Lyme disease and PTLDS [ 13 , 23 ]. The broad spectrum of observed autoantibody specificities suggests that the induction of an immunopathological response is more probably due to the dysregulation of immunity in the sense of polyclonal activation, suppression of tolerance, or exposure of cryptic antigens during inflammatory process than previously thought cross-reactivity with Borrelia antigens associated with “molecular mimicry” [ 24 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cause of the long-term symptoms has not yet been clarified; the involvement of immunopathological mechanisms associated with persistent inflammatory reaction and the formation of autoantibodies, the persistence of atypical morphological forms of bacteria or their residues, or the influence of other tick-borne infections are being intensively discussed [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Myositis Autoantibodies in Patients with Suspected Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

Sloupenska

Koubkova

Horák

et al. 2023

Life

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Most patients suffering from Lyme disease are effectively treated with antibiotics. In some patients, however, problems persist for a long time despite appropriate therapy. The term post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) is currently used for this condition in scientific literature. The pathogenesis is still not precisely known, but the involvement of immunopathological mechanisms is assumed. In our study, we analyzed the presence of autoantibodies including myositis-specific (MSA) and myositis-associated autoantibodies (MAA) in patients with laboratory proven history of Lyme disease and with clinical symptoms of PTLDS. A total of 59 patients meeting the criteria for PTLDS were enrolled in this study. The control group consisted of 40 patients undergoing differential diagnosis of neurological disorders without clinical and/or laboratory-proven history of Lyme disease. The presence of autoantibodies was determined by immunoblot methods and positive samples were further tested for serum creatine kinase (CK) and myoglobin levels. The presence of myositis autoantibodies was detected in 18 subjects with suspected PTLDS (30.5%), but only in 5% of control subjects exhibiting no evidence of Lyme disease history. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.002). The subsequent biochemical analysis of muscle-damage markers in positive subjects found a mild elevation in six MSA/MAA-positive PTLDS patients. The study detected raised MSA/MAA autoantibodies formation in the group of PTLDS patients raising the question about their involvement in the pathogenesis of this syndrome.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Myositis Autoantibodies in Patients with Suspected Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

Sloupenska

Koubkova

Horák

et al. 2023

Life

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“…According to the National Institute of Public Health in the Czech Republic, 53 cases of HGA were reported between 2007 and 2017; however, in the seroprevalence study from 2014, specific antibodies were detected in 34 of 314 individuals tested [ 16 ]. More recently, 12.6% of 103 patients with clinical symptoms persisting after antibiotic treatment of diagnosed Lyme disease were positive for A. phagocytophilum immunoglobulin G antibodies [ 17 ]. Similar rates of seroprevalence were reported in other European countries, including Norway, Sweden and Poland, where Anaplasma antibodies were detected in 11.0%, 12.0% and 11.8% of the general population, respectively [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distant genetic variants of Anaplasma phagocytophilum from Ixodes ricinus attached to people

et al. 2023

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Background Although the tick-borne pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum is currently described as a single species, studies using genetic markers can distinguish groups of variants associated with different hosts, pathogenicity, zoonotic potential and biotic and geographic niches. The objective of our study was to investigate the genetic diversity of A. phagocytophilum and Ixodes ricinus ticks attached to people. Methods In collaboration with a commercial diagnostic company, a total of 52 DNA samples were obtained from ticks that tested positive for A. phagocytophilum by quantitative PCR. The genetic profile of each sample was determined using the groEL and ankA genes. Identification of the tick species was confirmed by partial sequencing of the COI subunit and a portion of the TROSPA gene. Results All 52 ticks were identified as I. ricinus. Two protocols of nested PCR amplifying 1293- and 407-bp fragments of groEL of A. phagocytophilum yielded amplicons of the expected size for all 52 samples. Among all sequences, we identified 10 unique genetic variants of groEL belonging to ecotype I and ecotype II. The analysis targeting ankA was successful in 46 of 52 ticks. Among all sequences, we identified 21 unique genetic variants phylogenetically belonging to three clusters. Conclusions Our results indicate that ticks attached to people harbor distant genetic variants of A. phagocytophilum, some of which are not recognized as zoonotic. Further studies are needed to determine the risk of human infection by genetic variants other than those designated as zoonotic. Graphical Abstract

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“…According to the National Institute of Public Health in the Czech Republic, 53 cases of HGA were reported between 2007 and 2017; however, in the seroprevalence study from 2014, speci c antibodies were detected in 34 of 314 individuals tested [16]. Furthermore, recently, 12.6% of 103 patients with clinical symptoms persisting after antibiotic treatment of diagnosed Lyme disease were positive for A. phagocytophilum IgG antibodies [17]. Similar rates of seroprevalence were reported in other European countries including Norway, Sweden, and Poland, where Anaplasma antibodies were detected in 11.0%, 12.0% and 11.8% population, respectively (17).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, recently, 12.6% of 103 patients with clinical symptoms persisting after antibiotic treatment of diagnosed Lyme disease were positive for A. phagocytophilum IgG antibodies [17]. Similar rates of seroprevalence were reported in other European countries including Norway, Sweden, and Poland, where Anaplasma antibodies were detected in 11.0%, 12.0% and 11.8% population, respectively (17). The disease is likely greatly underdiagnosed due to nonspeci c u-like symptoms such as fever, headache, and myalgias that usually resolve without treatment [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distant genetic variants of Anaplasma phagocytophilum from Ixodes ricinus attached to people

Lesiczka

Hrazdilová

Hönig

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background Tick-borne pathogen, Anaplasma phagocytophilum is currently described as a single species; however, studies using genetic markers can distinguish groups of variants associated with different hosts, pathogenicity, zoonotic potential, and biotic and geographic niches. The objective of our study was to investigate the genetic diversity of A. phagocytophilum from Ixodes ricinus ticks attached to people. Methods In collaboration with a commercial diagnostic company, a total of 52 DNA samples were obtained from ticks that tested positive for A. phagocytophilum by qPCR. The genetic profile of each sample was described using the groEL and ankA gene. Identification of the tick species was confirmed by partial sequencing of the COI subunit and the portion of the TrospA gene. Results All 52 ticks were identified as I. ricinus. Two protocols of nested PCR amplifying 1293 bp and 407 bp fragments of the groEL gene of A. phagocytophilum yielded the amplicons of the expected size for all 52 samples. Among all sequences, we identified 10 unique genetic variants of the groEL gene belonging to ecotype I and ecotype II. The analysis targeting the ankA gene was successful in 46 of 52 ticks. Among all sequences, we identified 21 unique genetic variants phylogenetically belonging to three clusters. Conclusions Our results indicate that ticks attached to people harbor distant genetic variants of A. phagocytophilum, some of which are not recognized as zoonotic. Further studies are needed to determine the risk of human infection by genetic variants other than those designated as zoonotic.

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Seroprevalence of Antibodies against Tick-Borne Pathogens in Czech Patients with Suspected Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

Cited by 8 publications

References 77 publications

Myositis Autoantibodies in Patients with Suspected Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

Myositis Autoantibodies in Patients with Suspected Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome

Distant genetic variants of Anaplasma phagocytophilum from Ixodes ricinus attached to people

Distant genetic variants of Anaplasma phagocytophilum from Ixodes ricinus attached to people

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