This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) may present as meningitis, cranial neuropathy, acute radiculoneuropathy or, rarely, as encephalomyelitis. We hypothesized that glia, upon exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent, produce inflammatory mediators that promote the acute cellular infiltration of early Lyme neuroborreliosis. This inflammatory context could potentiate glial and neuronal apoptosis both in the central and peripheral nervous systems (PNS). We inoculated live B. burgdorferi into the cisterna magna of rhesus macaques and examined the inflammatory changes induced in the central nervous system (CNS), and dorsal root nerves and ganglia (DRG, PNS). ELISA of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed elevated IL-6, IL-8, CCL2, and CXCL13 as early as one week post-inoculation, accompanied by primarily lymphocytic and monocytic pleocytosis. CSF cell pellets and CNS tissues were culture-positive for B. burgdorferi. Histopathology revealed signs of acute LNB: severe multifocal leptomeningitis, radiculitis, and DRG inflammatory lesions. Importantly, the DRG of infected animals showed significant satellite cell and neuronal apoptosis. On the grounds of these results we inoculated 5 additional animals in the same fashion, and are performing peripheral nerve conduction studies. If DRG neurons are dying by apoptosis in vivo we expect to see changes in sensory nerve conduction properties. Moreover, if inflammation is involved in causing apoptosis, treatment of some of the animals with the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone may curb the alterations in nerve conduction properties.
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