Abstract
Syphilis is a prominent disease in low- and middle-income countries, and a re-emerging public health threat in high-income countries. Syphilis elimination will require development of an effective vaccine that has thus far remained elusive. Here we assess the vaccine potential of Tp0751, a vascular adhesin from the causative agent of syphilis, Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum. Tp0751-immunized animals exhibit a significantly reduced bacterial organ burden upon T. pallidum challenge compared with unimmunized animals. Introduction of lymph nodes from Tp0751-immunized, T. pallidum-challenged animals to naive animals fails to induce infection, confirming sterile protection. These findings provide evidence that Tp0751 is a promising syphilis vaccine candidate.
Highlights
Syphilis is a prominent disease in low- and middle-income countries, and a re-emerging public health threat in high-income countries
Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum crosses endothelial, placental and blood–brain barriers early in infection, as demonstrated by the widespread clinical manifestations associated with syphilis infections, the occurrence of congenital syphilis and the central nervous system invasion observed in B40% of early syphilis patients[11,12]
This immunization regimen is impractical for use in humans, this study significantly advanced the field of syphilis vaccine development as it illustrated that sterile protection can be successfully achieved with appropriate antigen selection and, simultaneously, it highlighted the importance of T. pallidum surface antigens in conferring protection[33]
Summary
Syphilis is a prominent disease in low- and middle-income countries, and a re-emerging public health threat in high-income countries. Introduction of lymph nodes from Tp0751-immunized, T. pallidum-challenged animals to naive animals fails to induce infection, confirming sterile protection. These findings provide evidence that Tp0751 is a promising syphilis vaccine candidate. In the Miller[33] study, rabbits were given 60 intravenous injections containing a total of 3.7 Â 109 g-irradiated T. pallidum over a 37-week period This immunization regimen is impractical for use in humans, this study significantly advanced the field of syphilis vaccine development as it illustrated that sterile protection can be successfully achieved with appropriate antigen selection and, simultaneously, it highlighted the importance of T. pallidum surface antigens in conferring protection[33]
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