Fig. 5.

Complement activation in vitro monitored as the ratio of C3a to intact C3 in lepirudin plasma from subclinical Lyme borreliosis individuals and patients with previous Lyme neuroborreliosis with or without concomitant Borrelia-specific antibodies in serum. SB generated higher C3a/C3 ratio after activation with Borrelia strain ACA1 than LNB patients with Borrelia-specific serum antibodies and without Borrelia-specific serum antibodies at the time of activation, *p = 0.03 and **p = 0.006 respectively. SB, subclinical individuals; LNB AB−, Lyme neuroborreliosis patients without Borrelia-specific serum antibodies at the time of study inclusion; LNB AB+, Lyme neuroborreliosis patients with Borrelia-specific serum antibodies at the time of study inclusion