Pathogenesis+-+Lyme+Disease

=Pathogenesis= When an infected tick bites a human, its saliva releases materials that disrupt the usual immune response to a cut. This reprieve allows the bacteria to take hold in the surrounding area. As it burrows into the body's tissue with its unique flagellar structure, it releases PAMPs which dendritic cells eventually engulf through their Toll-Like Receptors. The dendritic cells present them to Helper T-Cells with a co-stimulatory molecule and, in turn, the Th cells activate Cytotoxic T-Cells. The PAMP, however, begins attaching to the tissue as well as the microorganism itself, marking those body cells for induced cell death at the hands of Tc-Cells. This results in an auto-immune response as body cells begin destroying other body cells, manifesting in the inflammation we observe as a bull's eye rash.

In addition to the auto-immune response, the bacteria release Bacterial Lipoproteins which attach and damage nearby nerves, causing the symptoms detailed in Stages 2 and 3 of the section above.

An illustrated explanation of this process: media type="youtube" key="RTiWfyrNBwA" height="315" width="420" align="center"

//For Mary: after considering all of this again, I think the explanation offered in this video might be wrong. I feel like I should move on, but I wanted to acknowledge that something doesn't seem quite right.//