Open AccessCyclooxygenase 2 activity modulates the severity of murine Lyme arthritis
Author(s) -
Anguita Juan,
Samanta Swapna,
Ananthanarayanan Shobana K,
Revilla Beatriz,
Geba Gregory P,
Barthold Stephen W,
Fikrig Erol
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
fems immunology & medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1574-695X
pISSN - 0928-8244
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-695x.2002.tb00623.x
Subject(s) - borrelia burgdorferi , inflammation , arthritis , immunology , rheumatoid arthritis , cyclooxygenase , lyme disease , downregulation and upregulation , biology , medicine , antibody , enzyme , gene , biochemistry
Cyclooxygenase (Cox) is a key enzyme in the biosynthetic metabolism of prostaglandins. The inducible isoform of Cox‐2 has been implicated in inflammation and its specific inhibition can be used to treat noninfectious inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Borrelia burgdorferi , the agent of Lyme disease, can induce joint inflammation. Here we show that B. burgdorferi induced the upregulation of cox‐2 gene expression in murine joints at the onset of arthritis in infected mice. The level of mRNA expression correlated with the degree of inflammation. The specific inhibition of Cox‐2 diminished the degree of joint inflammation, without affecting B. burgdorferi ‐specific antibody or cytokine responses. Cox‐2 activity is therefore associated with the genesis of infectious arthritis caused by B. burgdorferi .