Borrelia burgdorferi responses to antibiotic stresses

摘要 由伯氏疏螺旋体引起的莱姆病一般可在2-4周内治愈。 抗生素疗程。然而，从对人类患者的研究和实验中得到了强有力的证据 动物认为，抗生素并不总是能清除伯氏杆菌感染。对其他细菌物种的研究已经 揭示了对抗生素压力的遗传编码的生理适应，例如改变表达 目标蛋白质或代谢酶的水平。为了深入了解莱姆螺旋体是否也适应 抗生素压力，我们将检查伯氏杆菌的转录本和蛋白质组，这些转录体和蛋白质组暴露在 治疗人类莱姆病常用的亚致死浓度和致死浓度的抗生素 感染。这些研究的结果将揭示伯氏杆菌是否具有遗传编码的适应性。 机制，然后可以有针对性地开发改进的治疗方法。

ABSTRACT Lyme disease, which is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is generally treatable by a 2-4 week course of antibiotics. However, there is strong evidence from studies of human patients and experimental animals that antibiotics do not always clear B. burgdorferi infections. Studies of other bacterial species have revealed genetically-encoded physiological adaptations to antibiotic stresses, such as altering expression levels of target proteins or metabolic enzymes. To gain insight on whether the Lyme spirochete also adapts to antibiotic stresses, we will examine the transcriptomes and proteomes of B. burgdorferi that are exposed to sub-lethal and lethal concentrations of antibiotics that are commonly used to treat human Lyme disease infections. Results of these studies will reveal whether B. burgdorferi possesses genetically-encoded adaptive mechanisms, which can then be targeted for development of improved therapeutics.