The Immunology of Syphilis

Susceptibility of rabbits to Treponema pallidum after infection with Mycobacterium bovis.

“…There is evidence that cell-mediated immunity does develop in the host (rabbit or man) during the course of an infection with T. pallidum (Musher et al, 1976;Kiraly, 1976), and possibly it plays some role in the regression of lesions and the ultimate recovery of the host-for example, in human infections where recovery is sometimes spontaneous. Is phagocytosis by macrophages an important effector mechanism of cell-mediated immunity in syphilis?…”

“…Human syphilis and the animal model disease (Treponema pallidum infection in rabbits) results in both a humoral and a cell-mediated immune response by the host (Kiraly, 1976;Musher et al, 1976), but the relative contribution of each to overall immunity has yet to be determined. Antibody alone is not fully protective, since in passive transfer experiments rabbits ultimately succumb to infection (Perine et al, 1973;Sepetjian et al, 1973;Turner et al, 1973;Bishop and Miller, 1976;Weiser et al, 1976).…”

Cloning structural genes for Treponema pallidum immunogens and characterisation of recombinant treponemal surface protein, P2 (P2 star).

“…Positive clones were spotted in duplicate on E coli, transferred to nitrocellulose, and tested again for antibody reactivity to insure the isolation of clones producing positive signals. RADIOIMMUNOPRECIPITATION 23 After being homogenised and clarified, the extract was diluted in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) to give a final concentration of 0 05% Z (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12). This soluble preparation was then incubated with 500 p1 of fibronectin-Sepharose23 for six hours at room temperature with gentle rocking.…”

“…This soluble preparation was then incubated with 500 p1 of fibronectin-Sepharose23 for six hours at room temperature with gentle rocking. The beads were then washed with 100 volumes of PBS and 0 05% Z (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12). Treponemal material adherent to fibronectin (P1, P2, and P3) was released by boiling in 1 ml of electrophoresis solubilising buffer7 for three minutes.…”