Figure 8. Degradation of deposited C3b by acquiring plasmin on the surface of B. recurrentis.

Spirochetes were immobilized onto microtiter plates and incubated with 10% NHS as source for C3b. Washed bacteria were treated with PLG in the presence or absence of tranexamic acid (TA) and bound PLG was activated by uPA. Deposited C3b was detected using biotinylated anti-C3c IgG followed by peroxidase-conjugated streptavidin. C3b deposition is expressed as the mean absorbance at 492 nm of triplicates. Error bars indicate±SEM. *, P<0.0001.