Lactate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors Suppress Borrelia burgdorferi Growth In Vitro

The Pathogens Journal (Lynch A., et al.) 07.15.2023, published “Lactate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors Suppress Borrelia burgdorferi Growth In Vitro.” Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. This study aims to investigate different chemical compounds to see if they could stop the growth of this bacterium and potentially help in treating Lyme disease.

Borrelia burgdorferi relies heavily on a process called glycolysis. The researchers focused on a specific enzyme called lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) that plays a critical role in this energy production. The article states that “LDH inhibitors have been widely suggested for the treatment of various cancers and apicomplexan infections.” By inhibiting LDH, they wanted to see if they could stop the bacterium’s growth without harming the host (humans). Overall, the study suggests that inhibiting LDH could be a promising approach to suppress Borrelia growth. However, more research is needed to explore these compounds further and potentially develop new tools to manage Lyme disease.

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Read the full article on the MDPI Open Access Journals website here.