PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., April 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the US, announces two pre-clinical studies published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine. The studies demonstrate promising implications for improved Lyme disease treatment and understanding of chronic Lyme through peptidoglycan, a molecule found in the cell wall of the bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), which causes Lyme disease. The first study finds piperacillin, an FDA-approved treatment for pneumonia that inhibits peptidoglycan production, may be a more effective treatment for Lyme disease than the current “gold standard” treatment, doxycycline, which is not effective for up to 20% of patients. The second study uncovers how lingering peptidoglycan builds up in the joint fluid and liver, contributing to chronic Lyme symptoms, which affect over 20% of patients treated for Lyme disease.

“Piperacillin may be a game-changer for improving Lyme disease treatment, which is currently a challenge for researchers and physicians. Furthermore, our new mechanistic understanding of how piperacillin affects peptidoglycan synthesis is unexpectedly informing our development of a biomarker-based approach to diagnose acute Lyme disease,” said Brandon Jutras, PhD, associate professor of Microbiology-Immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and a Bay Area Lyme Foundation 2021 Emerging Leader Award winner. “Our second study explores the role of peptidoglycan in chronic Lyme symptoms; peptidoglycan influences an inflammatory and chronic illness response for weeks or even months after infection, adding to the growing evidence that remnants of bacteria and viruses can stick around and keep affecting the body, similar to the occurrence of Long COVID in some patients.”

In the first study, researchers screened nearly 500 FDA-approved compounds using a wide range of scientific techniques to identify potential treatments for Lyme disease. Piperacillin stood out as a top performer in laboratory studies, effectively killing the Lyme-causing bacterium at very low concentrations by targeting its unique peptidoglycan cell-wall pattern. In pre-clinical models, piperacillin cured infection at doses 100 times lower than doxycycline, a standard Lyme treatment, and did so without disrupting the gut microbiome. These findings suggest that piperacillin could become a promising new option for specifically treating Lyme disease when administered at low doses.

The second study focused on the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, and its unique cell wall component called peptidoglycan. This molecule was found to persist in joint fluids in human samples, potentially driving inflammation and long-term health issues. Using pre-clinical models, the team discovered that the liver acts as a “storage site” for bacterial peptidoglycan, where it can remain for weeks or months, unlike peptidoglycan produced by other bacteria. The presence of peptidoglycan triggered changes in immune responses and energy metabolism like fatigue and inflammation. These findings suggest that lingering bacterial molecules like peptidoglycan could play a role in chronic Lyme disease, drawing parallels to other chronic conditions like Long COVID, where persistent antigens may contribute to ongoing heath issues.

“Dr. Jutras’ findings show great potential for improving Lyme disease treatments and identifying the mechanisms causing persistent and chronic Lyme disease, informing new potential avenues for diagnostics and therapeutics,” said Linda Giampa, executive director of Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “It is rewarding for all of us at Bay Area Lyme Foundation to have seen the progress of Dr. Jutras’ work from when we selected him as an Emerging Leader Award winner in 2021 through this promising research, which closely aligns with our mission of making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure.” 

Together, these studies represent a significant advancement in understanding and treating Lyme disease. Bay Area Lyme Foundation remains committed to supporting innovative science that not only deepens our understanding of Lyme disease but also accelerates the development of more targeted diagnostics and therapies to improve patient outcomes.

About Lyme disease 
The most common vector-borne infectious disease in the US, Lyme disease is a potentially disabling infection caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite of an infected tick to people and pets, and may also be passed from a pregnant mother to her unborn baby. If caught early, most cases of Lyme disease can be effectively treated, but it is commonly misdiagnosed due to lack of awareness and inaccurate diagnostic tests. There are approximately 500,000 new cases of Lyme disease each year, according to statistics released in 2018 by the CDC. As a result of the difficulty in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, up to two million Americans may be suffering from the impact of its debilitating long-term symptoms and complications, according to Bay Area Lyme Foundation estimates.  

About Bay Area Lyme Foundation 
Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a national organization committed to making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure, is the leading public not-for-profit sponsor of innovative Lyme disease research in the US. A 501c3 organization based in Silicon Valley, Bay Area Lyme Foundation collaborates with world-class scientists and institutions to accelerate medical breakthroughs for Lyme disease. It is also dedicated to providing reliable, fact-based information so that prevention and the importance of early treatment are common knowledge. A pivotal donation from The LaureL STEM FUND covers overhead costs and allows for 100% of all donor contributions to Bay Area Lyme Foundation go directly to research and prevention programs. For more information about Lyme disease or to get involved, visit www.bayarealyme.org or call us at 650-530-2439. 

Media contact:  
Tara DiMilia  
Phone: 908-369-7168  
Tara.DiMilia@tmstrat.com