Abstract
Lyme disease, due to infection with the Ixodes-tick transmitted spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common tick-transmitted disease in the northern hemisphere. Our understanding of the tick-pathogen-vertebrate host interactions that sustain an enzootic cycle for B. burgdorferi is incomplete. In this article, we describe a method for imaging the feeding of Ixodes scapularis nymphs in real-time using two-photon intravital microscopy and show how this technology can be applied to view the response of Lyme borrelia in the skin of an infected host to tick feeding.
Keywords:
Borrelia burgdorferi; Ixodes scapularis ticks; Lyme disease; two-photon intravital microscopy.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Arachnid Vectors / microbiology
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Arachnid Vectors / physiology
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Arachnid Vectors / ultrastructure
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Borrelia burgdorferi / genetics
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Borrelia burgdorferi / metabolism
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Borrelia burgdorferi / physiology*
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Feeding Behavior / physiology
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Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
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Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
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Host-Parasite Interactions
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Host-Pathogen Interactions
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Ixodes / microbiology
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Ixodes / physiology*
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Ixodes / ultrastructure
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Lyme Disease / microbiology*
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Lyme Disease / transmission
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Mice
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Mice, Inbred BALB C
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Mice, Knockout
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Microscopy, Confocal
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Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
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Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton
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Nymph / microbiology
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Nymph / ultrastructure
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Skin / parasitology*
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Tick Infestations / parasitology*
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Time Factors
Substances
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Green Fluorescent Proteins