Main description:

This book explores the many mechanisms by which the most prevalent Spirochetal pathogens persist in a healthy immune-competent host. Among them are the direct and indirect suppression of host immune signals, phase and antigenic variation, escaping recognition by host complement proteins, and seclusion into immune privileged sites. We also explore antibiotic therapy for control of infection, a baffling topic that lends itself to exalted interpretation.

Contents:

Treponema pallidum.- Immunoseclusion and Chronic Infection.- Treponema Denticola.- Borrelial Complement-binding Proteins.- Treponema Pallidum Repeat (tpr) Genes and Antigenic Variation.- Antigenic Variation of V1sE by Borrelia Burgdorferi.- Modulation of Cytokine Signaling by Borrelia Burgdorferi.- Leptospira: Invasion, Pathogenesis and Persistence.- Immune Resistance by Relapsing Fever Spirochetes.- Neuroborreliosis Caused by Borrelia Burgdorferi: Possible Role of Glial Cells.- Antibiotic Resistance in Treponema Pallidum subsp. Pallidum, the Syphilis Agent.- Borrelia Burgdorferi Persistence Post-Antibiotic Treatment.