-transparent.png){kind=logo}
We have developed a sensitive assay for Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (T. pallidum), the agent of veneral syphilis, based upon the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A 658-bp portion of the gene encoding the 47-kDa membrane immunogen was amplified, and the PCR products were probed by DNA-DNA hybridization with a 496-bp fragment internal to the amplitifed DNA. The assay detected approximately 0.01 pg of purified T. pallidum DNA, and positive results were obtained routinely from suspensions of treponemes calculated to contain 10 or more organism and from some suspensions calculated to contain a single organism. Specific PCR products were obtained for the closely related agent of yaws, Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue, but not with human DNA or DNAs from other spirochetes (including Borrelia burgdoferi), skin microorganisms, sexually transmitted disease pathogens, and central nervous system pathogens. T. pallidum DNA was detected in serum, cerebrospinal fluids, and amniotic fluids from syphilis patients but not in in nonsyphilitic controls. T. pallidum DNA was also amplified from paraffin-embedded tissue. The diagnosis of syphillis by using PCR may become a significant addition to the diagnostic armamentarium and a valuable technique for the investigation of syphilis pathogenesis.
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
April 2011,
Ocular immunology and inflammation,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
June 1994,
Yonsei medical journal,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
April 2014,
Pathology,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
May 2006,
The British journal of ophthalmology,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
January 2022,
Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
January 1992,
Journal of clinical microbiology,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
January 1990,
Jikken dobutsu. Experimental animals,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
September 1991,
Journal of clinical microbiology,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
January 2019,
The Canadian journal of cardiology,
J M Burstain, and
E Grimprel, and
S A Lukehart, and
M V Norgard, and
J D Radolf
June 1997,
Journal of clinical microbiology,
