실험적으로 감염시킨 토끼에서 Borrelia burgdorferi 분포 및 면역반응 양상

The visceral dissemination of Borrelia burgdorferi in New Zealand White rabbits was evaluated following intradermal inoculation of $1{\times}10^8$ spirochetes. We inoculated Borrelia burgdorferi B31, B garinii KW1 and B afzehlii S13, respectively, and monitored the dissemination in the experimentally infected rabbits for 28 days. In the B burgdorferi B31-challenged group, the spirochetes were completely cleared in rabbits at day 1 and visceral dissemination was not demonstrated. However, B garinii KW1 and B afzelii S13 were found to successfully disseminate in visceral organs of rabbits during the experiment period of 28 days. And experimentally infection-derived immunological responses in rabbits were identified with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblot analysis. Based on these results, the differences in the virulence of Lyme borrelial strains were proved in rabbit model.