Fig. 7.

The proposed model for the signaling events in mature, human oligodendrocytes in response to B. burgdorferi. Upon exposure to the bacteria, signaling events mediated by an as yet unknown receptor(s) lead to activation of various pathways, but predominantly the MEK/ERK pathway, resulting in release of specific inflammatory mediators. Thickness of the lines for MAPK/NFkB pathways depicts the attributed signal strength. Activation of the MEK/ERK pathway also leads to increased p53 levels, with the mitochondrial arm of p53 playing a role in apoptosis. Dashed lines depict undetermined possibilities