Guest guest Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 Something here reminds me that evasion of phagocytosis is an interesting possible possibility: see 1431264 on syphilis, which reminds me of Steeres 1984461 on borrelia. I dont think the latter was well-supported by later experiments, but I dont think I ever settled whether one has the right to be miffed about people not using a mouse assay to make sure the Bb they are working with is the strong stuff (since Bb loses infectivity in passage). Its interesting to look at the pedigree of the Bb in experiments, which I think should often be addressed more than it is - just as blinding should be addressed better, in general, than it is. Re immunology of enclosed cysts, I will have to learn some more about exactly what is necessary for phagocytosis (which often, at least, is receptor-mediated) and exactly what biomolecules effective levels of antibody can be raised against. Still, if antimicrobials hold cysts dormant, it would seem unlikely they could keep us inflamed whilst not getting cleared. If they are not getting cleared, or degrading dissolutively on their own, they wont at all activate cellular immunity, whose activity is sustained by presentation of antigen that has been captured and degraded. Thus, to keep us inflamed they would have to continuously ligandize intracellular or extracellular innate immune system receptors. Or, perhaps, degrading dissolutively very very slowly? I guess I cant account for possibilities like hypersensitivity response, which I dont know the first thing about. This has been proposed as an inflammatory mechanism in late syphilis because of the very low numbers of bacteria that have been detected by most observers. Its high on my list to learn about. > This is an impressive bit of thinking, , but it all proceeds from > a set of assumptions whose validity is not obvious to me. > > Is it true, for example, that the immune system can be counted on to > pick off the dormant cysts as they awaken? It seems unlikely to be > true. After all, the cysts are at whatever place in the body the bugs > wehere when they shape-shifted, and if that is the brain or the joints > the immune system has been failing to kill them there for a long time. > Why should it suddenly become successful at what it failed to do > before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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