FIG. 1.

Attachment of B. burgdorferi to Vero cells is sensitive to heparinase or heparitinase digestion, while attachment to 293 cells is sensitive to chondroitinase ABC digestion. Bacterial attachment of the infectious B. burgdorferi strain N40, clone D10/E9, to confluent monolayers was determined as described in Materials and Methods. (A) Attachment of N40 to Vero cells or 293 cells was determined (from left to right) in the absence of inhibitor or in the presence of 500 μg of chondroitin-6-sulfate, chondroitin-4-sulfate, heparin, heparan sulfate, or dermatan sulfate per ml. (B) Bacterial attachment was quantitated (from left to right) after no treatment or after a 2-h treatment of the monolayers with 0.5 U of heparinase, heparitinase, or chondroitinase ABC per ml.