Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent of Lyme disease. In addition to the characteristic effects of acute infection, Lyme disease can cause chronic effects including cardiac and neurological complications [1]. Several laboratories have shown the ability of B. burgdorferi to attach and invade several cell types such as lymphocytes [2] and fibroblasts [3]. Cultured normal human astrocytes were used to investigate the possible interaction between a cell type of the central nervous system and the Lyme disease spirochete.

Initially scanning electron microscopy was used to monitor and characterize the surface interaction between astrocytes and spirochetes. Astrocyte cell cultures were co-incubated with low passage B31 cultures over a time course from 1 hr to 18 hr. The co-cultures were washed extensively to discourage non-specific binding, glutaraldehyde fixed, critical point dried and mounted for field emission scanning electron microscopy. A time dependent association between the cultured astrocytes and B. burgdorferi were found to range from approximately 20% after 1 hr to almost 100% after 18 hr.