The Urokinase Receptor (uPAR) Facilitates Clearance of Borrelia burgdorferi
Figure 4
The urokinase activator (uPA) is not involved in clearance of the spirochete.
(A) Urokinase activator knock-out C57BL/6 mice display similar systemic B. burgdorferi numbers compared to WT controls. WT and uPA −/− mice were inoculated with B. burgdorferi and sacrificed two and four weeks post infection. DNA was extracted from the indicated tissues and subjected to quantitative Borrelia flab and mouse β-actin PCR. Six to eight mice per group were used and B. burgdorferi numbers are depicted as described in Figure 2A. (B) Urokinase activator deficient granulocytes and macrophages (solid lines) are just as capable as WT controls (dotted lines) of phagocytosing B. burgdorferi. Phagocytosis assays were performed as described in Figure 2F. Six to eight mice per group were used, error bars represent SEM and the graphs are representative of two independent experiments. A p-value<0,05 was considered statistically significant.