Affiliation:
1. Departments of Pathobiology
2. Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The
tprK
gene in the syphilis spirochete,
Treponema pallidum
subsp.
pallidum
, undergoes antigenic variation in seven variable (V) regions.
tprK
is highly variable within
T. pallidum
strains, and a method has been developed to derive clones of
T. pallidum
that express a single, unique
tprK
sequence. Rabbits were infected with three different
T. pallidum
clones or the parent strain from which the clones were derived, and their sera were examined by immunoassay for antibody reactivity against synthetic peptides representing the TprK V regions from each clone. The parent strain expresses many different V region sequences, and infection with this strain induced antibody responses against a wide variety of V regions. In rabbits infected with the Chicago C clone, antibodies developed against all of the V regions except V1, while antibodies developed against only V5, V6, and V7 in Chicago A-infected rabbits. During Chicago B infection, antibodies developed against all of the V regions except V1 and V3. Antibodies were highly specific for the V regions of the infecting clone, and cross-reactivity was rare. The demonstration that the V regions elicit a variant-specific antibody response supports the hypothesis that TprK variants may help organisms to avoid the developing immune response in infected individuals, contributing to the ability of
T. pallidum
to establish chronic infection.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Immunology,Microbiology,Parasitology
Cited by
75 articles.
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