Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “TREPONEMA INFECTIONS”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 883 records · Page 49Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Experimental transmission of Treponema hyodysenteriae from mice to pigs.

Transmission experiments with Treponema hyodysenteriae were conducted with mice and pigs, using laboratory mice as the carrier host. Mice were intragastrically inoculated with T hyodysenteriae and placed in a contact with nonexposed mice or healthy pigs. Contact mice mingled with infected mice at 5 or 180 days after inoculation were shedding T hyodysenteriae in their feces 9 to 14 days after exposure. Pigs exposed directly to infected mouse feces were shedding T hyodysenteriae in their feces after 5 to 17 days of exposure and developed swine dysentery after 11 to 13 days. Transmission of T hyodysenteriae to pigs through direct contact with feces from infected mice indicates that rodents in the field may be a reservoir host and may also be involved in spreading swine dysentery.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The effects of Treponema pallidum on human dendritic cells.

Cell mediated immune responses play a prominent role in syphilis, which is caused by Treponema pallidum. The role of dendritic cells (DC) in the syphilitic infection is not well understood in human. In the present study, we studied interaction of T. pallidum with DC, generated from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells with GM-CSF and IL-4. After adding T. pallidum for 16 hours to immature DC at culture day 7, the change of surface antigens on DC was monitored by flow cytometry, the amount of IL-12 in culture supernatant of DC was measured by ELISA and T cell stimulatory capacity of DC was checked in mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). We have observed an efficient phagocytosis of T. pallidum by electron microscopy as early as 2 hours after addition of T. pallidum to DC. Interaction of DC with T. pallidum resulted in increased surface expression of CD83 which was proportionally increased according to the number of T. pallidum. Expressions of CD80, CD86 and HLA-DR on DC were slightly increased. The amount of IL-12 in the culture supernatant of DC was increased (1,099 pg/ml) after the addition of T. pallidum. T. pallidum-infected DC also displayed enhanced T cell stimulatory capacity in MLR. As seen from the above, we observed phagocytosis of T. pallidum by DC as early as 2 hours after addition of T. pallidum to DC and found that T. pallidum can stimulate DC maturation which mean that DC modulate an protective immune response during T. pallidum infection.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1979

Unique lipid composition of Treponema pallidum (Nichols virulent strain).

The lipid composition of Treponema pallidum (Nichols virulent strain) was determined after purification of the organisms from the infected testes of corticosteroid-treated rabbits by differential centrifugation, filtration through Nuclepore membranes, and sedimentation in Hypaque density gradients. The total lipids were comprised of 32.2% neutral lipids, mainly cholesterol, and 67.8% phospholipids consisting of phosphatidylcholine (32.1%), sphingomyelin (14.8%), cardiolipin (13.0%), phosphatidylethanolamine (6.2%), phosphatidylinositol-serine (1.2%), and lysophosphatidylcholine (0.4%). Monoglycosyldiglyceride, a glycolipid comprising 25 to 50% of thetotal lipid of all Treponema previously examined, was not detected. The fatty acid composition was similar but quntitatively distinct from that of the infected testes tissue.

Cardiolipins↗
PubMed1998

Dentilisin activity affects the organization of the outer sheath of Treponema denticola.

Prolyl-phenylalanine-specific serine protease (dentilisin) is a major extracellular protease produced by Treponema denticola. The gene, prtP, coding for the protease was recently cloned and sequenced (K. Ishihara, T. Miura, H. K. Kuramitsu, and K. Okuda, Infect. Immun. 64:5178-5186, 1996). In order to determine the role of this protease in the physiology and virulence of T. denticola, a dentilisin-deficient mutant, K1, was constructed following electroporation with a prtP-inactivated DNA fragment. No chymotrypsin-like protease activity was detected in the dentilisin-deficient mutant. In addition, the high-molecular-mass oligomeric protein characteristic of the outer sheath of the organism decreased in the mutant. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of the mutant was decreased, and coaggregation of the mutant with Fusobacterium nucleatum was enhanced compared to that of the wild-type organism. The results obtained with a mouse abscess model system indicated that the virulence of the mutant was attenuated relative to that of the wild-type organism. These results suggest that dentilisin activity plays a major role in the structural organization of the outer sheath of T. denticola. The loss of dentilsin activity and the structural change in the outer sheath affect the pathogenicity of T. denticola.

Animals↗
PubMed1968

Advantage of a routine Reiter protein complement-fixation test in the serodiagnosis of syphilis in pregnancy.

One hundred and twenty-seven (0.3%) reactive serological tests for syphilis were obtained by routine examination of sera from 35,912 antenatal patients.Forty-eight (38%) of these reactive sera were associated with reactive fluorescent treponemal antibody and Treponema pallidum immobilization results and these patients were therefore considered to show serological evidence of treponemal infection. Sera from 13 of these 48 patients (27%) gave reactive Reiter protein complement-fixation tests in the absence of detected ;reagin' antibody. Seventy-nine patients showed non-specific biological false positive reactions to the routine tests. Following clinical assessment of these serologically reactive patients, approximately one in 100 immigrant and one in 2,500 non-immigrant pregnant women examined in this series were treated with penicillin; this represented just over half the number of patients with serological evidence of a treponemal infection, a ratio which was similar for immigrant and native born women. Yaws was the likely treponemal infection in the majority of infected immigrants. The significance of the serological results and the advantages of the Reiter protein complement-fixation test are discussed.

Complement Fixation Tests↗
PubMed1981

Effects of aflatoxin consumption on the clinical course of swine dysentery.

Specific-pathogen-free pigs were examined for susceptibility to swine dysentery after daily treatment with aflatoxin B1 (0.07 to 0.14 mg/kg). In the pigs (group II) given both aflatoxin and Treponema hyodysenteriae, the incubation period before the onset of swine dysentery was shorter than that in pigs (group III) given T hyodysenteriae alone. Also, the number of days in which infected pigs showed signs of diarrhea and dysentery was greater in the group given aflatoxin and T hyodysenteriae than in the group given T hyodysenteriae alone. Four of 8 pigs given aflatoxin and T hyodysenteriae died during the experiment, whereas only 1 of 8 infected pigs in the other group died. Pigs in both groups, convalescent from swine dysentery, were immune to rechallenge exposure. Subclinical effects of aflatoxin consumption were evident at necropsy, but clinical signs and lesions of swine dysentery were not observed in group III pigs (given aflatoxin only).

Aflatoxins↗
PubMed1994

Retrobulbar neuritis complicating acute Epstein-Barr virus infection.

A 19-year-old man presented with retrobulbar neuritis and was initially suspected to have neurosyphilis because of a positive microhemagglutination assay for Treponema pallidum (MHA-TP). However, a Venereal Disease Research Laboratory assay was negative, and the patient was subsequently diagnosed with infection due to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) by heterophile antibody assay and serology for EBV. A biological false-positive MHA-TP has been reported in association with EBV infection. Physicians need to be aware that both retrobulbar neuritis and a biological false-positive MHA-TP can be seen in association with EBV infection.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Experimental syphilitic orchitis in rabbits: ultrastructural appearance of Treponema pallidum during phagocytosis and dissolution by macrophages in vivo.

The ultrastructural distribution of Treponema pallidum and the host inflammatory response during experimental testicular infection of rabbits have been examined. During the inductive phase of experimental orchitis both organisms and inflammatory cells, primarily lymphocytes, are coated by amorphous material not seen in other cellular inflammatory reactions. Phagocytosis of organisms by macrophages occurs during the reactive phase. Phagocytic vesicles contain T. pallidum and are frequently lined by amorphous material. T. pallidum do not appear structurally abnormal prior to phagocytosis; destruction of T. pallidum, manifested by swelling and lysis of the organisms, occurs within phagocytic vacuoles. We conclude that removal of organisms during the reactive stage of experimental syphilis is accomplished by phagocytosis and digestion of organisms by macrophages, resulting from a delayed hypersensitivity reaction initiated by specifically sensitized T cells. The presence of amorphous "ground substance" material does not block the inflammatory response and inhibits neither phagocytosis nor digestion by macrophages.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Degradation of host protease inhibitors and activation of plasminogen by proteolytic enzymes from Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola.

Bacterial proteases may participate in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases through their action on host proteins. In the present study, the ability of selected periodontopathogens, as well as two proteases isolated from Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola, to degrade host protease inhibitors was evaluated. The activation of human plasminogen by the two bacterial proteases was also investigated. Proteolytic breakdown of host protease inhibitors (alpha-1-antitrypsin, antichymotrypsin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, antithrombin III, antiplasmin and cystatin C) was evaluated by SDS-PAGE. The 80 kDa trypsin-like protease of P. gingivalis completely digested the six protease inhibitors under investigation, whereas the 95 kDa chymotrypsin-like protease of T. denticola was slightly less active, more particularly on alpha 2-macroglobulin and cystatin C. When whole cells from a number of oral bacterial species were tested, the most significant degradation was obtained with P. gingivalis, T. denticola, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens and Capnocytophaga spp. Peptostreptococcus micros and Propionibacterium acnes had only some degradative activity on selected inhibitors, whereas three bacterial species, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides forsythus and Fusobacterium nucleatum, had no effect on the protease inhibitors. The 80 kDa protease of P. gingivalis demonstrated strong plasminogen activation, whereas no such activity was associated with the 95 kDa protease of T. denticola. This study indicates the high potential of some periodontal pathogens to destroy protease inhibitors and activate plasminogen. This may result in an uncontrolled degradation of periodontal tissues and a rapid progression of the disease.

Bacteroidaceae Infections↗
PubMed1999

Relationship between immunoclinical status and prevalence of viral sexually transmitted diseases among human immunodeficiency virus-1 seropositive patients in Ghana.

In view of the strong association between the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), we screened 182 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infected patients over a 15-month period for serological markers to previously encountered or current STDs, most of viral etiology. The relationship between their immunological and clinical status and the prevalence of STDs was assessed and compared with that of 88 HIV-seronegative patients. Hepatitis B virus and Treponema pallidum were the most frequently occurring pathogens in both HIV-1-infected and HIV-seronegative patients. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was also observed in both groups, but no HIV-seronegative patient was infected with human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). The Centers for Disease Control clinical staging of A1 through C3, representing asymptomatic to severe AIDS conditions, was observed in HIV-1 patients with or without STDs. A mean CD4 count of 288 cells per microliter (95% CI of 237-340 cells per microliter) in HIV-1 patients was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that in HIV-seronegative individuals with 1019 cells per microliter (95% CI of 924-1115 cells per microliter), irrespective of whether subjects in either group had previous or current STDs. The mean CD4 count of patients with a single infection from HIV-1 was not significantly different (P = 0.36) from that of HIV-1 patients with multiple infections. HIV-1 infection alone appears to be responsible for the marked immunodeficiency status of seropositive patients observed in this study.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1976

Studies on the Treponema pallidum immobilizing activity in normal human serum. 5. On the protective role against syphilis.

It was shown that T. pallidum immobilized in vitro by normal serum had lost its infectivity in rabbits. This finding suggested that the immobilizing activity of normal serum might play a role in the natural resistance of man against infections with T. pallidum. However, the results of serological studies of acquired early syphilis in man and of experimental syphilis in cynomolgus monkeys did not present evidence that the immobilizing activity of normal serum protected against syphilis infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Congenital syphilis in newborn rabbits: immune functions and susceptibility to challenge infection at 2 and 5 weeks of age.

Experiments were performed to further elaborate on our congenital syphilis rabbit model. Attempts were made to determine whether in utero exposure to Treponema pallidum would stimulate immune reactivity and whether this activity would, in turn, affect lesion development upon challenge infection. Newborn rabbits aged 2 or 5 weeks were obtained from control does or from does infected intravenously with T. pallidum during pregnancy. Congenitally infected newborns exhibited increased immunologic functions. Concanavalin A-induced T-lymphocyte proliferation was elevated at both 2 and 5 weeks. In addition, macrophage Ia expression and RPR antibody titers were increased at 5 weeks. In separate experiments, newborn rabbits from control does or from does infected during pregnancy were challenged intradermally with viable organisms at either 2 or 5 weeks of age. Subsequent lesion severity was markedly increased in those newborns previously exposed to treponemes in utero. These observations further strengthen our model for congenital transmission of T. pallidum during pregnancy. We propose that at least some of the tissue pathology in syphilitic infection is associated with activated host defenses.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Seroprevalence and incidence of genital ulcer infections in a rural Ugandan population.

OBJECTIVES: To determine age-sex specific seroprevalence and incidence rates of Treponema pallidum, Haemophilus ducreyi, and HSV-2; to assess the association between HIV-1 status and incidence of these STIs; and HSV-2 serostatus with number of lifetime sexual partners. METHODS: Antibodies against HIV-1, T pallidum, H ducreyi, and HSV-2 infections were tested using approximately 1000 paired (2 year interval) sera collected from a rural adult (15-54 years) population cohort in south west Uganda. RESULTS: Overall HIV-1 prevalence was 4.9%. Prevalence for T pallidum was 12.9% among males and 12.6% among females. The corresponding rates for H ducreyi were 9.8% and 7.3% respectively. HSV-2 prevalence rates were considerably lower in males (36.0%) than in females (71.5%), p < 0.001. Incidence rates for T pallidum per 1000 person years of observation were 8.4 for males and 12.3 for females. The corresponding rates for H ducreyi were 24.6 and 20.0 and for HSV-2 were 73.2 and 122.9 per 1000 person years of observation, respectively. The RR of HSV-2 incidence was 3.69 in HIV seropositive cases versus HIV seronegative after adjusting for age and sex. The corresponding RR for H ducreyi was 3.50 among female HIV positive cases versus negatives with no effect seen in males. Association between HIV-1 prevalence and prevalence of other STIs was significant (Mantel-Haenszel test) for H ducreyi (p = 0.01) and for HSV-2 (p = 0.004) but not for T pallidum (p > 0.4). HSV-2 prevalence was associated with number of lifetime sexual partners (females, p = 0.003; males, p = 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: The results have provided a reliable estimate of the magnitude of the STI problem and demonstrated an association between HIV-1 status and serology of other STIs in a general rural population in sub-Saharan Africa. The study has also highlighted a correlation between HSV-2 seropositivity and number of reported lifetime sexual partners.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1978

Early malignant syphilis observed during infection and reinfection in the same patient.

Malignant syphilitic infections occurring in the same woman at an interval of 38 months is reported. The first infection was diagnosed as secondary papulopustular and ecthymatous syphilis. The reinfection was more severe, taking the form of secondary ulcerative syphilis with fever, general deterioration, and loss of weight. Numerous Treponema pallidum were present in the serum expressed from the papulopustular lesions during the first infection, but they were absent from the secretion expressed from the margins of the ulcerative symphilides during the reinfection. Many treponemes were present in the plasma cell infiltrates in histopathological sections of the biopsy specimens taken from the margin of the ulcers.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Risk factors for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in southwestern American Indian women.

The authors assessed risk factors for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) among southwestern American Indian women using case-control methods. Cases were New Mexico American Indian women with biopsy-proven grade I (n = 190), grade II (n = 70), or grade III (n = 42) cervical lesions diagnosed between November 1994 and October 1997. Controls were American Indian women from the same Indian Health Service clinics with normal cervical epithelium (n = 326). All subjects underwent interviews and laboratory evaluations. Interviews focused on history of sexually transmitted diseases, sexual behavior, and cigarette smoking. Laboratory assays included polymerase chain reaction-based tests for cervical human papillomavirus infection, tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia, wet mounts, and serologic assays for antibodies to Treponema pallidum, herpes simplex virus, and hepatitis B and C viruses. In multiple logistic regression analysis, the strongest risk factors for CIN II/III among American Indian women were human papillomavirus type 16 infection (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 7.6; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.4, 23.2), any human papillomavirus infection (OR = 5.8; 95% CI: 3.3, 10.0), low income (OR = 3.3; 95% CI: 1.7, 6.2), and history of any sexually transmitted disease (OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.5). Unlike previous research, this study found no strong associations between CIN and sexual activity or cigarette smoking.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Maternal periodontitis and prematurity. Part II: Maternal infection and fetal exposure.

Clinical data from the first 812 deliveries from a cohort study of pregnant mothers entitled Oral Conditions and Pregnancy (OCAP) demonstrate that both antepartum maternal periodontal disease and incidence/progression of periodontal disease are associated with preterm birth and growth restriction after adjusting for traditional obstetric risk factors. In the current study we present measures of maternal periodontal infection using whole chromosomal DNA probes to identify 15 periodontal organisms within maternal periodontal plaque sampled at delivery. In addition, maternal postpartum IgG antibody and fetal exposure, as indexed by fetal cord blood IgM level to these 15 maternal oral pathogens, was measured by whole bacterial immunoblots. The potential role of maternal infection with specific organisms within 2 bacterial complexes most often associated with periodontitis, conventionally termed "Orange" (Campylobacter rectus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Peptostreptococcus micros, Prevotella nigrescens, and Prevotella intermedia) and "Red" (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Bacteroides forsythus, and Treponema denticola) complexes, respectively, to prematurity was investigated by relating the presence of oral infection, maternal IgG, and fetal cord IgM, comparing full-term to preterm (gestational age < 37 weeks). The prevalence of 8 periodontal pathogens was similar among term and preterm mothers at postpartum. There was a 2.9-fold higher prevalence of IgM seropositivity for one or more organisms of the Orange or Red complex among preterm babies, as compared to term babies (19.9% versus 6.9%, respectively, P = 0.0015, chi square). Specifically, the prevalence of positive fetal IgM to C. rectus was significantly higher for preterm as compared to full-term neonates (20.0% versus 6.3%, P = 0.0002, as well as P. intermedia (8.8% versus 1.1%, P = 0.0003). A lack of maternal IgG antibody to organisms of the Red complex was associated with an increased rate of prematurity with an odds ratio (OR) = 2.2; confidence interval (CI) 1.48 to 3.79), consistent with the concept that maternal antibody protects the fetus from exposure and resultant prematurity. The highest rate of prematurity (66.7%) was observed among those mothers without a protective Red complex IgG response coupled with a fetal IgM response to Orange complex microbes (combined OR 10.3; P < 0.0001). These data support the concept that maternal periodontal infection in the absence of a protective maternal antibody response is associated with systemic dissemination of oral organisms that translocate to the fetus resulting in prematurity. The high prevalence of elevated fetal IgM to C. rectus among premature infants raises the possibility that this specific maternal oral pathogen may serve as a primary fetal infectious agent eliciting prematurity.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed2000

The pattern and level of cytokines secreted by Th1 and Th2 lymphocytes of syphilitic patients correlate to the progression of the disease.

The results of our previous work indicated that cell-mediated immune response, of importance in protection against Treponema pallidum, is distinctly inhibited at certain periods of syphilitic infection. Considering that cytokines, produced by Th1 lymphocytes, take part in this response and that their secretion may be regulated by cytokines of Th2 lymphocytes, we examined if, and in which stages of syphilis, such a regulation may exist. In this study we have examined the ability of cells to produce IL-2, IFN and TNF (Th1 or Th1 like cytokines) as well as IL-6 and IL-10 (Th2 or Th2 like cytokines). It was found that cells of syphilitic patients were able to produce IL-2, IFN, TNF, IL-10 and weakly IL-6 already in primary seronegative syphilis. At the same stage of syphilis, but seropositive, ability of Th1 lymphocytes to produce cytokines reached the highest values, whereas the cells producing IL-10 lost this ability. The cells producing IL-6 and MIF had the highest ability in secondary early syphilis. In this stage of syphilis again slightly increased the ability of cells to secrete IL-10, which reached the highest value in early latent syphilis. The growing ability to produce IL-6 and IL-10 was accompanied with a diminished production of IL-2, IFN and TNF nearly in all stages of syphilis. Only MIF, in contrast to other cytokines, was produced in late syphilis without distinct changes. The greatest suppression of Th1 lymphocytes to produce cytokines and cells to secretion of MIF was found in early latent syphilis when the level of IL-10 in cell culture supernates was the highest. High ability of Th2 lymphocytes to cytokines secretion in late syphilis and low ability of Th1 ones, which are very important for cell-mediated immune response, may be the reason for facilitating T. pallidum multiplication and development of latent stages of disease despite presence of immunologically competent cells.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed2002

Comparison of 16S rDNA-based PCR and checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridisation for detection of selected endodontic pathogens.

Molecular methods have been used recently to investigate the bacteria encountered in human endodontic infections. The aim of the present study was to compare the ability of a 16S rDNA-based PCR assay and checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridisation in detecting Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Bacteroides forsythus, Peptostreptococcus micros, Porphyromonas endodontalis, Por. gingivalis and Treponema denticola directly from clinical samples. Specimens were obtained from 50 cases of endodontic infections and the presence of the target species was investigated by whole genomic DNA probes and checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridisation or taxon-specific oligonucleotides with PCR assay. Prevalence of the target species was based on data obtained by each method. The sensitivity and specificity of each molecular method was compared with the data generated by the other method as the reference--a value of 1.0 representing total agreement with the chosen standard. The methods were also compared with regard to the prevalence values for each target species. Regardless of the detection method used, T. denticola, Por. gingivalis, Por. endodontalis and B. forsythus were the most prevalent species. If the checkerboard data for these four species were used as the reference, PCR detection sensitivities ranged from 0.53 to 1.0, and specificities from 0.5 to 0.88, depending on the target bacterial species. When PCR data for the same species were used as the reference, the detection sensitivities for the checkerboard method ranged from 0.17 to 0.73, and specificities from 0.75 to 1.0. Accuracy values ranged from 0.6 to 0.74. On the whole, matching results between the two molecular methods ranged from 60% to 97.5%, depending on the target species. The major discrepancies between the methods comprised a number of PCR-positive but checkerboard-negative results. Significantly higher prevalence figures for Por. endodontalis and T. denticola were observed after PCR assessment. There was no further significant difference between the methods with regard to detection of the other target species.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗