Quantitative Analysis oftprGene Expression inTreponema pallidumIsolates: Differences among Isolates and Correlation with T-Cell Responsiveness in Experimental Syphilis

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Abstract
Transcriptional analysis of thetprgenes inTreponema pallidumsubsp.pallidum(referred to here as simplyT. pallidum) has been limited to date, and yet the expression of members of this gene family is likely relevant to the pathogenesis of syphilis. Recently, immunological studies and semiquantitative mRNA analysis led to the hypothesis of the modulation oftprgene transcription during infection and suggested that various strains ofT. pallidummight differentially express these genes. In this study we developed a real-time amplification assay to quantify thetprmRNAs with respect to the 47-kDa lipoprotein message and to compare transcript levels among four different strains ofT. pallidum. In addition, we analyzed the lymphocyte responsiveness pattern toward the Tpr antigens in late experimental syphilis to identifytprgenes that had been expressed during the course of infection. The T-cell response has been implicated in clearance of treponemes from early lesions, and some of the Tprs were identified as strong targets of the cellular immune response. We show that message for many of thetprgenes can be detected in treponemes harvested at the peak of early infection. Interestingly,tprKseems to be preferentially expressed in almost every strain, and it is uniformly the target of the strongest cellular immune response. These studies demonstrate the differential expression of certaintprgenes among strains ofT. pallidum, and further studies are needed to explore the relationship betweentprgene expression and the clinical course of syphilis in infected individuals.

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