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Infection and Immunity, October 2003, p. 5605-5612, Vol. 71, No. 10
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.10.5605-5612.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Protection against Syphilis Correlates with Specificity of Antibodies to the Variable Regions of Treponema pallidum Repeat Protein K

Cecilia A. Morgan,1 Sheila A. Lukehart,1,2 and Wesley C. Van Voorhis1,2*

Departments of Pathobiology,1 Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 981952

Received 2 June 2003/ Returned for modification 30 June 2003/ Accepted 22 July 2003

Syphilis has been recognized as a disease since the late 1400s, yet there is no practical vaccine available. One impediment to the development of a vaccine is the lack of understanding of multiple reinfections in humans despite the development of robust immune responses during the first episode. It has been shown that the Treponema pallidum repeat protein K (TprK) differs in seven discrete variable (V) regions in isolates and that the antibody response during infection is directed to these V regions. Immunization with TprK confers significant protection against infection with the homologous strain. We hypothesize that the antigenic diversity of TprK is involved in immune evasion, which contributes to the lack of heterologous protection. Here, using the rabbit model, we show a correlation between limited heterologous protection and tprK diversity in the challenge inoculum. We demonstrate that antibody responses to the V regions of one TprK molecule show limited cross-reactivity with heterologous TprK V regions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St., HSB Room I-104, Box 357185, Seattle, WA 98195. Phone: (206) 543-0821. Fax: (206) 685-8681. E-mail: wesley{at}u.washington.edu.

Editor: D. L. Burns

Infection and Immunity, October 2003, p. 5605-5612, Vol. 71, No. 10
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.10.5605-5612.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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