Abstract：
Pathogenic spirochetes cause a range of serious human diseases such as Lyme disease (LD), syphilis, leptospirosis, relapsing fever (RF), and periodontal disease. Motility is a critical virulence factor for spirochetes. From the mechanical perspective of the infection, it has been widely believed that flagella are the sole key players governing the migration and dissemination of these pathogens in the host. Here, we highlight the important contribution of spirochetal surface-exposed adhesive molecules and their dynamic interactions with host molecules in the process of infection, specifically in spirochetal swimming and crawling migration. We believe that these recent findings overturn the prevailing view depicting the spirochetal body to be just an inert elastic bag, which does not affect spirochetal cell locomotion.
摘要：
致病性螺旋体引起一系列严重的人类疾病，如莱姆病（LD），梅毒,钩端螺旋体病,复发性发热（RF），和牙周病.运动性是螺旋体的关键毒力因子。从感染的机械角度来看，人们普遍认为鞭毛是控制这些病原体在宿主中迁移和传播的唯一关键角色。这里,我们强调了螺旋体表面暴露的粘附分子及其在感染过程中与宿主分子的动态相互作用的重要贡献，特别是在螺旋体游泳和爬行迁徙中。我们认为，这些最近的发现推翻了将螺旋体体描述为只是一个惰性弹性袋的普遍观点，这不会影响螺旋细胞的运动。
