NYMC Faculty Publications
Transcriptome Assessment of Erythema migrans Skin Lesions in Patients with Early Lyme Disease Reveals Predominant Interferon Signaling
DOI
10.1093/infdis/jix563
Journal Title
Journal of Infectious Diseases
First Page
158
Last Page
167
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Department
Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Abstract
Background: The most common clinical manifestation of early Lyme disease is the erythema migrans (EM) skin lesion that develops at the tick bite site typically between 7 and 14 days after infection with Borreliella burgdorferi. The host-pathogen interactions that occur in the skin may have a critical role in determining outcome of infection.Methods: Gene arrays were used to characterize the global transcriptional alterations in skin biopsy samples of EM lesions from untreated adult patients with Lyme disease in comparison to controls.Results: The transcriptional pattern in EM biopsies consisted of 254 differentially regulated genes (180 induced and 74 repressed) characterized by the induction of chemokines, cytokines, Toll-like receptors, antimicrobial peptides, monocytoid cell activation markers, and numerous genes annotated as interferon (IFN)-inducible. The IFN-inducible genes included 3 transcripts involved in tryptophan catabolism (IDO1, KMO, KYNU) that play a pivotal role in immune evasion by certain other microbial pathogens by driving the differentiation of regulatory T cells.Conclusions: This is the first study to globally assess the human skin transcriptional response during early Lyme disease. Borreliella burgdorferi elicits a predominant IFN signature in the EM lesion, suggesting a potential mechanism for spirochetal dissemination via IDO1-mediated localized immunosuppression.
Recommended Citation
Marques, A., Schwartz, I., Wormser, G., Wang, Y., Hornung, R., Demirkale, C., Munson, P., Turk, S., Williams, C., Chyi-Chia, R., Yang, J., & Petzke, M. (2018). Transcriptome Assessment of Erythema migrans Skin Lesions in Patients with Early Lyme Disease Reveals Predominant Interferon Signaling. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 217 (1), 158-167. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jix563