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Round bodies, blebs and biofilms in Lyme disease
Lyme Disease Biofilm and Pleomorphic Forms of Borrelia burgdorferi
Lyme disease biofilm formation may help explain how Borrelia burgdorferi persists in the body despite treatment. Researchers have increasingly focused on the pleomorphic forms of the Lyme bacterium—including round bodies, blebs, and biofilms—to better understand the biology of persistent Lyme disease.
In an effort to better understand Lyme disease biofilm and other morphologic forms, Corak and colleagues grew B. burgdorferi cultures containing spirochetes, round bodies, blebs, and biofilm-dominated colonies. They then analyzed their transcriptomes using RNA sequencing.
The investigators found that these non-spirochete morphotypes could be induced simply by modifying growth conditions.
Pleomorphic Forms of Borrelia burgdorferi
The authors described three major pleomorphic forms of the Lyme disease bacterium:
- Round bodies — spherical B. burgdorferi cells with intact and flexible cell envelopes containing numerous flagella.
- Bleb morphotype — characterized by the formation of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) on the bacterial surface.
- Lyme disease biofilm — multicellular assemblies composed of spirochetes, round bodies, and bleb cells embedded within a self-produced extracellular polysaccharide matrix.
Corak and colleagues generated these pleomorphic forms by modifying spirochetal cultures. They found that round bodies share similar gene-expression profiles with spirochetes, while bleb and biofilm morphotypes demonstrate distinct expression patterns.
Why Lyme Disease Biofilm May Matter
The investigators suggest that Lyme disease biofilm and bleb morphotypes may contribute to the dissemination and persistence of B. burgdorferi within mammalian hosts.
“Taken together, we believe that many of the ongoing controversies related to Lyme disease pathogenesis and treatment strategies could be resolved by improving our understanding of B. burgdorferi biology and evolution.”
Understanding Lyme disease biofilm and other pleomorphic forms may help explain why some patients experience persistent symptoms despite treatment. Researchers continue to investigate whether these morphologic variants contribute to bacterial survival.
Key Point: Lyme disease biofilm formation and other pleomorphic forms of Borrelia burgdorferi may play a role in bacterial persistence and treatment challenges.
Related Research on Persistent Lyme Disease
Scientists continue to explore whether biofilms, persister cells, and dormancy mechanisms contribute to persistent infection. These topics are discussed in related articles:
Related Articles:
Persister cells still a problem for Lyme disease patients
References:
- Corak et al. Pleomorphic Variants of Borreliella (syn. Borrelia) burgdorferi Express Evolutionary Distinct Transcriptomes. Int J Mol Sci. 2023.
Dr. Daniel Cameron, MD, MPH
Lyme disease clinician with over 30 years of experience and past president of ILADS.
Symptoms • Testing • Coinfections • Recovery • Pediatric • Prevention
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I was the first to describe Round body form borrelia( cystic form)
in 1988. I am delighted to read your update from researchers in Croatia and Germany who describe on detail the molecular basis of cystic borrelia, and blebs of borrelia and biofilm borrelia communities.
Each “ variant” non spiral form of borrelia carry a molecular signature which differs from the “spiral “ form Gene expressions. These molecular signatures influence the synthesis of key “ variant” proteins
and provide an explanation for the failure of current serology test kits to detect these “ variant “ proteins.
Alan B MacDonald MD
I cannot believe it has been that many years ago. I started seeing Lyme disease patients in 1987.