Summary: Rabbits infected intravenously with Treponema pallidum were not markedly febrile, and the pyrogenicity of treponeme preparations administered intravenously to rabbits was negligible. The antibiotic polymyxin B did not induce any ultrastructural changes on the treponemal surface and was not lethal (immobilizing) for T. pallidum, which was, however, highly susceptible to detergents such as SDS. Extraction of treponemes with Triton X-100 removed the outer membrane (despite the presence of Mg2+) as shown by electron microscopy, and solubilized a limited number of proteins detectable by SDS-PAGE, including a dominant antigen (47 kDal) demonstrated by immunoblotting. None of the proteins were heat-modifiable. Periodic acid-silver staining of polyacrylamide gels for carbohydrate together with protease K digestion did not demonstrate major carbohydrate components in whole treponemes, or in the Triton-soluble fraction. Surface iodination of intact treponemes revealed very little surface exposure of treponemal proteins, although a protein which co-migrated with host albumin was labelled and appeared to be associated with the treponemal surface. Many treponemal proteins were, however, labelled when iodination was done in the presence of Triton. These observations indicate that the outer membrane of T. pallidum differs significantly from those of many Gram-negative pathogens.
BaileyM. J., PennC. W.,
CockayneA.1985; Evidence for the presence of lipopolysaccharide in Treponema phagedenis (biotype Reiterii) but not in T. pallidum (Nichols). FEMS Microbiology Letters 27:117–121
DrusinL. M.,
RouillerG. C.,
ChapmanG. B.1969; Electron microscopy of Treponema pallidum occurring in a human primary lesion. Journal of Bacteriology 91:951–955
FinnT. M.,
ArbuthnottJ. P.,
DouganG.1982; Properties of Escherichia coli grown in vivo using a chamber implant system. Journal of General Micro biology 128:3083–3091
HardyP. H.,
LevinJ.1983; Lack of endotoxin in Borrelia hispanica and Treponema pallidum. Proceed ings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 174:47–52
JonesS. A.,
MarchittoK. S.,
MillerJ. N.,
NorgardM. V.1984; Monoclonal antibody with haemagglutination, immobilization, and neutral ization activities defines an immunodominant, 47000 mol. wt, surface-exposed immunogen of Treponema pal/idum (Nichols). Journal of Experi mental Medicine 160:1404–1420
MilnerK. C.,
FinkelsteinR. A.1966; Bioassayof endotoxin: correlation between pyrogenicity for rabbits and lethality for chick embryos. Journal of Infectious Diseases 116:529–539
NorrisS. J.,
SellS.1984; Antigenic complexity of Treponema pallidum: antigenicity and surface localization of major polypeptides. Journal of Immu nology 133:2686–2692
O'ConnorC. G.,
AshmanL. K.1982; Application of the nitrocellulose transfer technique and alkaline phosphatase conjugated anti-immunoglobu lin for determination of the specificity of monoclonal antibodies to protein mixtures. Journal of Immuno logical Methods 54:267–271
PennC. W.1981; Avoidance of host defences byTreponema pallidum in situ and on extraction from infected rabbit testes. Journal of General Microbi ology 126:69–75
PennC. W.1983; The use of the rabbit as a model for syphilis infection. In Experimental Bacterial and Parasitic Infections, pp.145–150KeuschG.,
WadstromT.
New York: Elsevier Biomedical;
PennC. W.,
ClayJ. C.1982; Comparison of the morphology, antigenicity and pathology of Nichols and Birmingham isolates of Treponema pallidum. British Journal of Venereal Diseases 58:286–291
PennC. W.,
LichfieldJ.1982; The outermembrane of Treponema pallidum: solubilization by detergents to release axial filaments. FEMS Microbi ology Letters 14:61–64
PennC. W.,
SenD.,
VealeD. R.,
ParsonsN. J.,
SmithH.1976; Morphological, biological and antigenic properties of Neisseria gonorrhoeae adapted to growth in guinea-pig subcutaneous chambers. Journal of General Microbiology 91:35–43
SchnaitmanC. A.1971; Effect of ethylenediamine tetracetic acid, Triton X-100, and lysozyme on the morphology and chemical composition of isolated cell walls of Escherichia coli. Journal of Bacteriology 108:553–563
StrugnellR. A.,
HandleyC. J.,
LowtherD. A.,
FaineS.,
GravesS. A.1984; Treponemapallidum does not synthesize in vitro a capsule containing glycosaminoglycans or proteoglycans. British Journal of Venereal Diseases 60:8–13
SykesJ. A.,
MillerJ. M.,
KalanA. J.1974; Treponema pallidum within cells of a primary chancre from a human female. British Journal of Venereal Diseases 50:40–44
TowbinH. T.,
StaehelinT.,
GordonJ.1979; Electrophoretic transfer of proteins from polyacryl amide gels to nitrocellulose sheets: procedure and some applications. Proceedings of the National Academy ol Sciences ol the United States of America 76:4350–4354
WiegelJ.,
QuandtL.1982; Determination of the Gram type using the reaction between polymyxin B and lipopolysaccharide of the outer cell wall of whole bacteria. Journal of General Microbiology 128:2261–2270
WrightA.,
TipperD. J.1979; The outermembrane of Gram-negative bacteria. In The Bacteria, vol. VII, Mechanisms of Adaptation, pp427–485SokatchJ. R.,
OrnstonL. N.
New York: Academic Press;