TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of cell-surface exposure and vaccinogenic potentials of Treponema pallidum candidate outer membrane proteins
AU - Tomson, Farol L.
AU - Conley, Patrick G.
AU - Norgard, Michael V.
AU - Hagman, Kayla E.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Martin Goldberg for expert technical assistance, David L. Cox for training and advice on the gel microdroplet technique, and David R. Blanco for the M131 monoclonal antibody. This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (R01-AI016692). FLT was supported by the National Institutes of Health Training Grant (T32-AI007520).
PY - 2007/9
Y1 - 2007/9
N2 - Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochetal bacterium Treponema pallidum, remains a global public health problem. T. pallidum is believed to be an extracellular pathogen and, as such, the identification of T. pallidum outer membrane proteins that could serve as targets for opsonic or bactericidal antibodies has remained a high research priority for vaccine development. However, the identification of T. pallidum outer membrane proteins has remained highly elusive. Recent studies and bioinformatics have implicated four treponemal proteins as potential outer membrane proteins (TP0155, TP0326, TP0483 and TP0956). Indirect immunofluorescence assays performed on treponemes encapsulated within agarose gel microdroplets failed to provide evidence that any of these four molecules were surface-exposed in T. pallidum. Second, recombinant fusion proteins corresponding to all four candidate outer membrane proteins were used separately, or in combination, to vaccinate New Zealand White rabbits. Despite achieving high titers (>1:50,000) of serum antibodies, none of the rabbits displayed chancre immunity after intradermal challenge with viable T. pallidum.
AB - Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochetal bacterium Treponema pallidum, remains a global public health problem. T. pallidum is believed to be an extracellular pathogen and, as such, the identification of T. pallidum outer membrane proteins that could serve as targets for opsonic or bactericidal antibodies has remained a high research priority for vaccine development. However, the identification of T. pallidum outer membrane proteins has remained highly elusive. Recent studies and bioinformatics have implicated four treponemal proteins as potential outer membrane proteins (TP0155, TP0326, TP0483 and TP0956). Indirect immunofluorescence assays performed on treponemes encapsulated within agarose gel microdroplets failed to provide evidence that any of these four molecules were surface-exposed in T. pallidum. Second, recombinant fusion proteins corresponding to all four candidate outer membrane proteins were used separately, or in combination, to vaccinate New Zealand White rabbits. Despite achieving high titers (>1:50,000) of serum antibodies, none of the rabbits displayed chancre immunity after intradermal challenge with viable T. pallidum.
KW - Outer membrane protein
KW - Treponema pallidum
KW - Vaccine
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U2 - 10.1016/j.micinf.2007.05.018
DO - 10.1016/j.micinf.2007.05.018
M3 - Article
C2 - 17890130
AN - SCOPUS:35148874716
SN - 1286-4579
VL - 9
SP - 1267
EP - 1275
JO - Microbes and Infection
JF - Microbes and Infection
IS - 11
ER -