Figure 1
Mechanisms of the borrelia to evade the immune system.
- Borrelia are recognized by immune cells through TLR2 and CD14 and attacked by complement and antibodies (upper row).
- Therefore (lower row), the borrelia downregulate their surface proteins,
- hide in the extracellular matrix, and
- use immune suppression, i.e.
- complement-neutralizing proteins like Salp, CRASPs, or ISAC/IRAC or
- induce the formation of immune complexes by secreting soluble antigens