---
title: Borrelia burgdorferi bbk13 Is Critical for Spirochete Population Expansion in the Skin during Early Infection
description: This study highlights the significance of early spirochete expansion in the skin towards driving downstream events that lead to distal tissue colonization.
---

<https://www.globallymealliance.org/research>

# [Borrelia burgdorferi bbk13 Is Critical for Spirochete Population Expansion in the Skin during Early Infection](https://www.globallymealliance.org/research/borrelia-burgdorferi-bbk13-is-critical-for-spirochete-population-expansion-in-the-skin-during-early-infection)

 Written by [Global Lyme Alliance](https://www.globallymealliance.org/research/author/glalyme) | Jan 16, 2020 8:49:44 PM

*Borrelia burgdorferi* (*Bb*) enters the human body via the bite of an infected *Ixodes *tick. Lyme disease symptoms arise from the dissemination of *Bb* from the initial bite site to the distal tissues such as the heart, the joints, or the nervous system. We identified a novel *Bb *infectivity gene, *bbk13*, that is important for distal tissue colonization in a mouse model of infection. Detailed characterization of the infection kinetics showed that there is a critical *Bb *population expansion that occurs at the skin during early infection and that *bbk13 *is important for this process. This study highlights the significance of early spirochete expansion in the skin towards driving downstream events that lead to distal tissue colonization. Therapeutic approaches that limit the early, localized expansion in the skin may prevent the onset of disseminated Lyme disease symptoms.

Published in *American Society for Microbiology*: [https://iai.asm.org/content/87/5/e00887-18](https://iai.asm.org/content/87/5/e00887-18)  
 PubMed: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30782856](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30782856)

[View full post](https://www.globallymealliance.org/research/borrelia-burgdorferi-bbk13-is-critical-for-spirochete-population-expansion-in-the-skin-during-early-infection)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Global Lyme Alliance"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2020-12-30T16:28:16.188Z",
  "datePublished" : "2020-01-16T20:49:44Z",
  "headline" : "Borrelia burgdorferi bbk13 Is Critical for Spirochete Population Expansion in the Skin during Early Infection",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 60,
    "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
    "width" : 60
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.globallymealliance.org/research/borrelia-burgdorferi-bbk13-is-critical-for-spirochete-population-expansion-in-the-skin-during-early-infection",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Research"
  }
}
```