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Experimental infection of young broiler chicks with Treponema hyodysenteriae.

In young broiler chicks which were inoculated with 10(8) cells of Treponema hyodysenteriae within 24 hr after hatching, numerous treponemes were observed by scanning electron microscopy on the surface of the cecal mucosa 7 and 14 days after the inoculation. However, in the groups inoculated with 10(7) cells, treponemes were not observed on the cecal mucosa 14 days after the inoculation, and the isolation rate from the cecal contents was lower than that from cecal contents of chicks inoculated with 10(8) cells. While the cecal mucosa of noninfected chicks had a smooth surface, that of the chicks infected with treponemes was generally roughened and the epithelium was eroded. Numerous treponemes were also observed within the eroded epithelium.

Animals↗

Chemotaxis in experimental syphilis.

Peritoneal exudate leukocytes from normal and Treponema pallidum-infected rabbits were examined for their chemotactic response to various chemoattractants and treponemal preparations. Leukocytes from normal and infected animals responded well to bacterial and serum-derived chemoattractants. Suspensions of washed Treponema phagedenis biotype Reiter but not T. pallidum exerted significant chemotactic activity. Cells from rabbits infected for greater than or equal to 7 days demonstrated increased locomotion, suggesting the possibility of increased random motility.

Animals↗

Specific agglutination of Treponema pallidum by sera from rabbits and human beings with treponemal infections.

A method has been described for the preparation of Treponema pallidum suspensions that are suitable for specific agglutination studies and can be stored at 4 degrees C. for months without loss of agglutinability. Such suspensions have been shown to react with two distinct antibodies in the serum of syphilitic animals and man: Wassermann antibody and a specific treponeme agglutinin. It has been demonstrated that the agglutination of treponemes by specific treponeme agglutinin is enhanced by heat treatment or aging of the suspension, and inhibited by a divalent cation, probably Ca(++), normally present in serum. This inhibition has been overcome by the use of a chelating agent, ethylene-diamine tetracetate. These findings have been utilized to devise a simple agglutination test for the diagnosis of treponeme infections that is very sensitive and highly specific. This test has been carried out with 430 human sera, and a comparison has been made of the results of the agglutination, treponemal immobilization, and standard serological tests on these sera. The agglutination test appears to have a specificity comparable to the treponemal immobilization test and considerably greater than the standard serological tests.

Agglutination↗

Evaluation of molecular methodologies and rabbit infectivity testing for the diagnosis of congenital syphilis and neonatal central nervous system invasion by Treponema pallidum.

IgM immunoblotting and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were evaluated for use in diagnosing congenital syphilis, and the prevalence of central nervous system (CNS) invasion by Treponema pallidum during congenital infection was examined. The results of rabbit infectivity testing (RIT) on serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 19 infants born to mothers with untreated early syphilis were compared with results of PCR and IgM immunoblotting. Seven infants had clinical evidence of congenital syphilis supported by positive serum IgM immunoblot (7/7), PCR (6/7), and RIT (3/3). Six symptomatic infants (86%) had T. pallidum isolated from CSF by RIT; 5 of 6 RIT-positive CSF samples were positive by PCR, and 2 also were reactive by IgM immunoblot. In 12 asymptomatic infants, 5 (42%) had a reactive serum IgM immunoblot and in 4 of these IgM reactivity was the only evidence of congenital infection. CNS invasion by T. pallidum was uncommon among asymptomatic infants; only 1 (8%) was positive by CSF RIT. The excellent agreement between RIT and PCR further substantiates the use of PCR as a surrogate for RIT. Our data indicate that the diagnosis of asymptomatically infected neonates will require a comprehensive approach using assays for both specific neonatal IgM and T. pallidum DNA in serum and CSF.

Adolescent↗

Equipment and technique of intramuscular injection in mass treatment campaigns against the treponematoses.

The precautions to be taken and the procedures to be followed when giving intramuscular injections are well known, but they are not always satisfactorily observed under conditions such as those met with in mass treatment campaigns against the treponematoses, nor is the importance of employing uniform techniques always sufficiently appreciated. In this paper, the authors present a brief review of the recommended techniques and procedures, covering all aspects of intramuscular injection from the choice and maintenance of equipment to the carrying-out of the actual injection.

Humans↗

Treponema pallidum strain-specific differences in neuroinvasion and clinical phenotype in a rabbit model.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between neuroinvasion and other manifestations of syphilis and the infecting strain of Treponema pallidum is not known. METHODS: Six groups of 8 rabbits were intravenously infected with 1 x 108 organisms from 1 of 6 strains of T. pallidum. Rabbits were examined 2-3 times/week; blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were collected weekly and every 2 weeks, respectively, for 10-12 weeks. Degree of CSF pleocytosis and skin-lesion severity were estimated by the area under the white blood cell-versus-time and lesion-versus-time curves. RESULTS: Maximum serum Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test titers, time to maximum titer, degree of CSF pleocytosis, and severity of skin lesions differed significantly among infecting strains. Overall, T. pallidum was identified, by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, in CSF from 13 (27.7%) of 47 rabbits and was never identified in CSF from rabbits infected with 1 of the strains. The time course of detection varied by infecting strain. Severity of skin lesions and of CSF pleocytosis were inversely correlated (P=.005). CONCLUSIONS: There are particularly neuroinvasive T. pallidum strains, and the clinical phenotype of infection varies with infecting strain. This information could ultimately be used to identify patients at increased risk for neuroinvasion and, thus, at risk for neurosyphilis.

Animals↗

Detection of bacteria in endodontic samples by polymerase chain reaction assays and association with defined clinical signs in Italian patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The presence of selected bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Tannerella forsythensis, Treponema denticola) in infected root canals was studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, and the association of bacteria with clinical signs of endodontic disease was assessed. The null hypothesis, that no difference could be observed between clinical signs of apical periodontitis and a specific bacterial strain, was tested. METHODS: Microbial samples were obtained from 62 teeth in 54 patients with endodontic disease. For each tooth, clinical data including patient symptoms were collected. Teeth were categorized by diagnosis as having acute apical periodontitis (AAP, teeth with clinical symptoms but no periapical radiolucency, n=22), chronic apical periodontitis (CAP, teeth with radiolucency but no clinical symptoms, n=15) or exacerbated apical periodontitis (EAP, teeth with symptoms and radiolucency, n=25). Seventy-one percent of cases were primary endodontic infections, and 29% were recurrent ('secondary') endodontic infections (failing cases). PCR assays were used to detect the presence of the selected bacteria. RESULTS: T. denticola and E. faecalis were each detected in 15 of 62 samples (24%), P. gingivalis in 8 samples (13%), P. intermedia in 5 samples (8%), and T. forsythensis in 4 samples (7%). T. denticola was detected in 56% of teeth with EAP. E. faecalis was found in 60% of teeth with CAP and in 72% of teeth with secondary infection. Statistical analysis demonstrated an association of CAP and secondary endodontic infection with the presence of E. faecalis. (P<0.01). EAP was associated with the presence of T. denticola (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: T. denticola was associated with symptomatic endodontic disease in the presence of apical bone resorption. E. faecalis was associated with treatment failures. We suggest that these species may play critical roles in endodontic pathology.

Adult↗

Spectrum of rectal biopsy abnormalities in homosexual men with intestinal symptoms.

Homosexually active men have frequent intestinal and rectal symptoms resulting from sexually acquired gastrointestinal infections. We evaluated the histologic findings in rectal biopsy specimens obtained from 89 homosexual men with intestinal symptoms and 11 homosexual men without intestinal symptoms. All had undergone comprehensive microbiologic evaluation for rectal and enteric pathogens. Rectal biopsy specimens were evaluated without knowledge of clinical or microbiologic data by a standardized method for the presence or absence of abnormal histologic features. Forty-six percent of specimens from symptomatic men and 27% of those from asymptomatic men were abnormal. Acute inflammation was the most frequent histologic abnormality and was more frequent in men who had pathogens (51%) than men without pathogens (24%, p less than 0.02). Acute but not chronic inflammation was seen also in specimens from homosexual men without intestinal symptoms. Intestinal spirochetosis was present in specimens from 23 (26%) of the symptomatic and 5 (45%) of the asymptomatic men. In 5 of the 89 symptomatic men, biopsy features of idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IIBD) were present; all 5 of these men were infected with either Treponema pallidum or Chlamydia trachomatis. Features of IIBD were present in 25% of those infected with C. trachomatis or T. pallidum. Chronic inflammation was more frequent in men infected with C. trachomatis, syphilis, or herpes simplex virus type II: 31% vs. 3%, p = 0.0002. Acute inflammation was present in specimens from men with proctitis or proctocolitis and enteritis as well as in those from asymptomatic men, whereas chronic inflammation was present only in specimens from men with proctitis or proctocolitis. Both acute and chronic inflammation were more frequent when biopsy specimens of the abnormal mucosa were examined. When specimens from men with single infections were analyzed, histology was rarely diagnostic. We conclude that acute inflammation is frequent in rectal biopsy specimens from symptomatic and asymptomatic homosexual men; chronic inflammation is infrequent, but when present is significantly associated with syphilis, herpes simplex virus type II, and C. trachomatis infection.

Adult↗

Protracted Treponema pallidum-induced cutaneous chancres in rabbits infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type I.

In a preliminary study, two of four rabbits infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) demonstrated prolonged primary chancres following superinfection with Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis. Two rabbits inoculated with 1 x 10(7) HTLV-I-infected human MT-2 cells and two with infected rabbit cells from a line established in this laboratory (RLT-P), developed latent HTLV-I infection as detected by seroconversion 10 weeks after infection and by detection of HTLV-I sequences in the DNA of peripheral blood lymphocytes after amplification by polymerase chair reaction (PCR) 15 weeks after infection. The rabbits remained clinically normal and had normal blood counts. Six months after infection, the four HTLV-infected rabbits and two noninfected controls were challenged by the intradermal inoculation of 1 x 10(6) Treponema pallidum into eight sites on the shaved back. The lesions of two of the HTLV-I-infected rabbits had a time course similar to non-HTLV-I-infected controls and were completely healed by 4 weeks. The lesions of one of the other two rabbits with progressive disease began to heal about 7 weeks after T. pallidum challenge. The cutaneous lesions in the other rabbit remained dark-field positive and became a confluent eschar at 8 weeks; healing only after treatment with penicillin. Four months after the primary challenge none of the six rabbits previously challenged with T. pallidum had developed lesions after rechallenge and thus expressed chancre immunity. These results demonstrate that rabbits with latent HTLV-I infections may have defective cell-mediated immunity.

Animals↗