Evidence of involvement of the mannose receptor in adhesion of Borrelia burgdorferi to monocyte/macrophages

The mannose receptor (MR) plays an important role in the recognition of som e pathogens in nonopsonic phagocytosis and in antigen presentation to T cel ls. We found that Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme borreliosis, adhe res to monocyte-derived macrophages and to rat MR-transfected cells but not to untransfected cells. Antibodies to MR and sugars such as mannose, manna n, fucose, and some lectins significantly lowered the adhesion, confirming participation of the MR in the binding.