Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• BRORSON, Ø
• BRORSON, S. H

Titel

In vitro conversion of Borrelia burgdorferi to cystic forms in spinal fluid, and transformation to mobile spirochetes by incubation in BSK-H medium

Ist Teil von

• Infection, 1998-05, Vol.26 (3), p.144-150

Ort / Verlag

Heidelberg: Springer

Erscheinungsjahr

1998

Quelle

SpringerLINK Contemporary (Konsortium Baden-Württemberg)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The purpose of this study was to examine the structural alterations of Borrelia burgdorferi when exposed to spinal fluid. Normal, mobile spirochetes were inoculated into spinal fluid, and the spirochetes were converted to cysts (spheroplast L-forms) after 1-24 h. When these cystic forms were transferred to a rich BSK-H medium, the cysts were converted back to normal, mobile spirochetes after incubation for 9 to 17 days. The cultures were examined by dark field microscopy (DFM), interference contrast microscopy (ICM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). When neuroborreliosis is suspected, it is necessary to realize that B. burgdorferi can be present in a cystic form, and these cysts have to be recognized by microscopy. This study may also explain why cultivation of spinal fluid often is negative with respect to B. burgdorferi.