Treponema pallidum genetic diversity and its implications for targeted vaccine development: A cross-sectional study of early syphilis cases in Southwestern Colombia.

Background: Venereal syphilis, caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (TPA), is surging worldwide, underscoring the need for a vaccine with global efficacy. Vaccine development requires an understanding of syphilis epidemiology and clinical presentation as well as genomic characterization of TPA strains circulating within at-risk populations.

Quality parameters for RNA preparations from biopsies of ulcerated human skin.

Obtaining high quality RNA from skin biopsies is complex due the physical composition and high content of nucleases of this tissue. This becomes particularly challenging when using compromised skin samples with necrotic, inflammed or damaged areas, such as those from patients suffering skin conditions, which affect more than 900 million people annually. We evaluated the impact of the biopsy size and tissue preservation method on the quality and quantity of RNA extracts.

High-throughput nanopore sequencing of tandem repeat genes and reveals clade-specific patterns and recapitulates global whole genome phylogeny.

Sequencing of most genomes excludes repeat regions in and the gene, encoding the acidic repeat protein (). As a first step to understanding the evolution and function of these genes and the proteins they encode, we developed a protocol to nanopore sequence and genes from 212 clinical samples collected from ten countries on six continents. Both and repeat structures recapitulate the whole genome phylogeny, with subclade-specific patterns emerging.

Sequence Variation of Rare Outer Membrane Protein β-Barrel Domains in Clinical Strains Provides Insights into the Evolution of subsp. , the Syphilis Spirochete.

In recent years, considerable progress has been made in topologically and functionally characterizing integral outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of subspecies , the syphilis spirochete, and identifying its surface-exposed β-barrel domains. Extracellular loops in OMPs of Gram-negative bacteria are known to be highly variable. We examined the sequence diversity of β-barrel-encoding regions of , , and in 31 specimens from Cali, Colombia; San Francisco, California; and the Czech Republic and compared them to allelic variants in the 41 reference genomes in the NCBI database.

IFNγ Enhances CD64-Potentiated Phagocytosis of Opsonized with Human Syphilitic Serum by Human Macrophages.

Syphilis is a multi-stage, sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete (). Considered broadly, syphilis can be conceptualized as a dualistic process in which spirochete-driven inflammation, the cause of clinical manifestations, coexists to varying extents with bacterial persistence. Inflammation is elicited in the tissues, along with the persistence of spirochetes to keep driving a robust immune response while evading host defenses; this duality is best exemplified during the florid, disseminated stage called secondary syphilis (SS).

Immune evasion and recognition of the syphilis spirochete in blood and skin of secondary syphilis patients: two immunologically distinct compartments.

Background: The clinical syndrome associated with secondary syphilis (SS) reflects the propensity of Treponema pallidum (Tp) to escape immune recognition while simultaneously inducing inflammation.

Methods: To better understand the duality of immune evasion and immune recognition in human syphilis, herein we used a combination of flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and transcriptional profiling to study the immune response in the blood and skin of 27 HIV(-) SS patients in relation to spirochetal burdens. Ex vivo opsonophagocytosis assays using human syphilitic sera (HSS) were performed to model spirochete-monocyte/macrophage interactions in vivo.

Secondary syphilis in cali, Colombia: new concepts in disease pathogenesis.

Venereal syphilis is a multi-stage, sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal bacterium Treponema pallidum (Tp). Herein we describe a cohort of 57 patients (age 18-68 years) with secondary syphilis (SS) identified through a network of public sector primary health care providers in Cali, Colombia. To be eligible for participation, study subjects were required to have cutaneous lesions consistent with SS, a reactive Rapid Plasma Reagin test (RPR-titer > or = 1 : 4), and a confirmatory treponemal test (Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody Absorption test- FTA-ABS).