Figure 1
From: The Pathogenesis of Lyme Neuroborreliosis: From Infection to Inflammation
Mechanisms of the borrelia to evade the immune system. Borrelia are recognized by immune cells through TLR2 and CD14 and attacked by complement and antibodies. Therefore, the borrelia downregulate their surface proteins, hide in the extracellular matrix, and use complement-neutralizing proteins like Salp, CRASPs, or ISAC/IRAC or induce the formation of immune complexes by secreting soluble antigens to be protected from recognition and subsequent killing.