FIGURE 6.

RNA-seq identification of myostatin (Mstn) as a candidate for Bbaa1-directed Lyme arthritis development. (A) Volcano plot depicts log₂ fold change (x-axis) and –log₁₀ adjusted p-value (y-axis) of genes identified by ISRCL4 vs. B6 and ISRCL3 vs. B6 RNA-seq comparisons. Single genes are plotted as dots, with those achieving significance (p-adj <0.05) colored black (n = 5 samples per genotype, each sample was comprised of cells from both rear ankle joints pooled from two mice). Red and blue dashed lines mark 1.5-fold increase in the congenic or B6, respectively. Circled genes had ≥ 1.5-fold change and p-adj <0.05 in both comparisons. (B) qRT-PCR analysis of Mstn expression in CD45⁻ cells isolated from a distinct group of B6, ISRCL4, and ISRCL3 mice infected with B. burgdorferi for 22 days (n = 5 to 6 per group). Mstn transcripts were normalized to β-actin and fold change relative to uninfected levels were calculated for each strain. Significance assessed by 1-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison test versus B6. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.