Use of Tick Cell Lines in Co-Infection Studies with a Preliminary Study of Co-Culture of Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 78
• Main Authors: Zając, Violetta, Bell-Sakyi, Lesley, Wójcik-Fatla, Angelina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.01.2025; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Anaplasma phagocytophilum - growth & development; Anaplasma phagocytophilum - physiology; Animal diseases; Animals; Antibiotics; Arachnids; Bacteria; Biobanks; Borrelia burgdorferi; Borrelia burgdorferi - growth & development; Borrelia burgdorferi - physiology; Brief Report; Cell culture; Cell Line; Cell lines; Cells; co-infection; Coculture Techniques - methods; Coinfection - microbiology; Concurrent infection; Culture; Ehrlichiosis - microbiology; Encephalitis; Health aspects; Humans; Infection; Infections; Ixodes - microbiology; Ixodes ricinus; Livestock; Lyme disease; Lyme Disease - microbiology; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Parasitic diseases; Pathogens; Real time; Serology; tick cell line; Ticks; United Kingdom; United States; Massachusetts; Western Europe; St Louis Missouri; Asia; United States > US; North America; Europe; Germany; Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Borrelia burgdorferi; tick cell line; co-infection
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens14010078

Ixodes ricinus is an important vector of infectious human and livestock diseases in Europe. Co-infections of pathogens in ticks and hosts have been reported. Tick cell lines offer a useful model system for study of co-infections. We present a review of the existing literature on co-infections in tick cell lines. Previous studies have demonstrated the usefulness of tick cell lines in studies on co-infection of different pathogens and their interaction with the tick microbiome. We also carried out a preliminary study to investigate the effects of co-culturing Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum on their growth and interactions with the Ixodes ricinus cell line IRE/CTVM19 over a 13-day period. Replication of both pathogens was quantified by real-time PCR. The presence of A. phagocytophilum appeared to have a slight inhibitory effect on the multiplication of B. burgdorferi, that were added subsequently. In contrast, the prior presence of B. burgdorferi appeared to have a stimulatory effect on A. phagocytophilum after 6 days in culture. We conclude that the IRE/CTVM19 tick cell line is suitable for simultaneous and continuous cultivation of both bacteria and can be applied in future research.