[Concentrations of soluble factors participating in regulation of apoptosis of lymphocyte from patients with chronic lyme arthritis (preliminary report)].

UNLABELLED: Lyme borreliosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi spirochete. The excess and inadequate inflammatory response and even autoimmunity is considered to participate in its pathogenesis. Apoptosis (programmed cell death) of activated lymphocytes contributes to regulation of immunological response and terminating the inflammation.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate concentrations of soluble factors participating in regulation of apoptosis in the supernatants of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with chronic Lyme borreliosis.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

The study group consisted of 10 patients with chronic Lyme arthritis and the control group of 5 persons in whom Lyme borreliosis was excluded. In the supernatant of PBMC culture incubated with Borrelia burgdorferi antigens concentrations of potentially anti-apoptotic factors: soluble receptor for tumor necrosis factor alpha (sTNF-RI), soluble Fas (sFas) and soluble Fas ligand (sFasL), as well as the concentration of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), cytokine synthesized in the final stage of apoptosis, were measured by ELISA.

RESULTS

Concentrations of sTNF-RI, sFas and sFasL, but also TGF-beta tended to be increased in the study group in comparison with nonstimulated PBMC and the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

These data, although they should be considered preliminary because of the small size of the groups, suggest possible impairment of the apoptosis of lymphocytes in the chronic Lyme borreliosis.