Persister Formation in Borrelia burgdorferi B. Sharma, A. Brown, K. Lewis; Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA Excerpt: We hypothesize that persister cells play a role in the treatment failure that leads to chronic Lyme disease. Here, using time-dependent and dose dependent survival assays, we show that B. burgdorferi forms persister cells to the antibiotics commonly used for treatment of Lyme disease. Our results indicate that in a B.burgdorferi population, 0.001% to 1% of the cells can survive lethal doses of various antibiotics in vitro. These persister cells may contribute to treatment failure in chronic Lyme patients. Future experiments are aimed at screening for a better antimicrobial therapy to eradicate persisters in B. burgdorferi. Read more…. http://www.abstractsonline.com/Plan/ViewAbstract.aspx?mID=3475&sKey=ddd2449f-2f20-40f0-b4e3-23d73fdf5fae&cKey=6420d060-6ac4-4246-b649-bf393a7997df&mKey=673511f0-c86b-432f-a387-058032b8500b