The disease is caused by bacteria shown here (in red) in a section of otherwise healthy mouse tissue (in blue). (sciencenews.org)
In fact, both of the studies found that when adenosine was turned on in mouse tissue by other mechanisms, the pain response was equal to or better than the response generated by acupuncture. (scientificamerican.com)
All three mice injected with WT bacteria seroconverted to B. burgdorferi antigens, and spirochetes were cultured from mouse tissues. (pnas.org)