Fig. 6.

BBA57 regulates IFN-stimulated genes. (A) Expression of type I IFN genes in C3H mice is influenced by BBA57. Groups of C3H mice were inoculated with equal levels (10⁵ per animal) of WT B. burgdorferi (white bars) or bba57− mutants (gray bars). Five days after infection, skin injection sites were collected and processed for RT-qPCR to analyze expression of ifna9 (Left) and several other IFN-stimulated genes (Right). (B) Expression of type I IFN genes in BALB/c mice is influenced by BBA57. The animals were infected and analyzed as detailed in A. (C) Modulation of expression of cxcl10 chemokine by BBA57 in primary dermal and myeloid human cells. Human fibroblasts, keratinocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils were incubated with medium only (black bars), WT B. burgdorferi (white bars), or bba57− mutant (gray bars) at a MOI of 50. After 24 h of incubation with fibroblasts (Top Left), keratinocytes (Top Right), or macrophages (Bottom Left) or after 12 h of incubation with neutrophils (Bottom Right), cells were collected and processed for cxcl10 expression using RT-qPCR. Bars represent the mean ± SEM of at least triplicates. Data in A–C are representative of three independent experiments. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.