HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Borrelia burgdorferi DNA is undetectable by polymerase chain reaction in skin lesions of morphea, scleroderma, or lichen sclerosus et atrophicus of patients from North America.

AbstractBACKGROUND:
Borrelia burgdorferi has been linked to the pathogenesis of morphea and lichen sclerosus et atrophicus (LSA). However, considerable controversy still exists as to the actual role, if any, that this spirochete plays in the development of these diseases. Antibody titer determinations have been inconclusive and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) studies have yielded conflicting results.
OBJECTIVE:
We sought to show whether PCR analysis detected B. burgdorferi in archival tissue specimens from the involved skin of 20 North American patients with morphea, 10 patients with LSA, and four patients with scleroderma.
METHODS:
We used two different sets of PCR primers for the B. burgdorferi flagellin gene, one specific for European strains of B. burgdorferi, and another common to both European and American strains. A subset of these samples were further amplified with nested PCR primers.
RESULTS:
None of the samples showed PCR products with either primer sets, whereas purified B. burgdorferi DNA and lesional erythema chronicum migrans tissues, which were used as positive controls, yielded easily detectable products with all primer sets.
CONCLUSION:
These data suggest that B. burgdorferi infection plays no role in the development of morphea, LSA, or scleroderma in North American patients; these findings further support the recent observations that B. burgdorferi strain variability is associated with differential spectra of disease in North America compared with that found in various parts of Europe.
AuthorsW I Dillon, G M Saed, D P Fivenson
JournalJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology (J Am Acad Dermatol) Vol. 33 Issue 4 Pg. 617-20 (Oct 1995) ISSN: 0190-9622 [Print] United States
PMID7673495 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References
  • DNA Primers
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Flagellin
Topics
  • Borrelia burgdorferi Group (classification, genetics)
  • DNA Primers
  • DNA, Bacterial (analysis)
  • Erythema Chronicum Migrans (microbiology)
  • Europe
  • Flagellin (genetics)
  • Gene Amplification
  • Humans
  • Lichen Sclerosus et Atrophicus (microbiology)
  • North America
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Scleroderma, Localized (microbiology)
  • Scleroderma, Systemic (microbiology)

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: