Fig. 4: Pericyte-penetrating B. burgdorferi partially wedged between a pericyte and an endothelial cell in the dorsal skin.
From: Targeted volume imaging reveals early vascular interactions of Lyme disease pathogen in skin
a Overview representative slice from the SBF-SEM dataset showing a cross-section of Bb (yellow arrows) located between the pericyte (blue arrowheads) and the endothelial cell (green arrowheads). b Two 3D model views of the same capillary from different angles show two adhered Bb cells. In the bottom model, pericytes are rendered transparent to expose the localization of one Bb beneath the pericyte, along with cellular debris located above (magenta) and beneath (violet) the pericyte. Missing sections are shown in gray. c Representative slices from the region of the dataset indicated by black arrowheads in (b) reveal an unidentified structure adjacent to the Bb (black arrow). d Slices from the area marked in (b) by white arrowheads show Bb invaginated into the pericyte protrusion at the putative entry site, and penetration through its membrane at the putative exit site (black arrow). For color coding, refer to (a). Basement membrane (BM), interstitial space (IS). Additional details are provided in Supplementary Movies 3 and 4.
