Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1977 Jun;130(3):1333–1344. doi: 10.1128/jb.130.3.1333-1344.1977

Scanning electron microscopy of Treponema pallidum (Nichols strain) attached to cultured mammalian cells.

T J Fitzgerald, P Cleveland, R C Johnson, J N Miller, J A Sykes
PMCID: PMC235358  PMID: 324985

Abstract

This paper describes the attachment of Treponema pallidum (Nichols strain) to cultured mammalian cells as a visualized by scanning electron microscopy. Treponemes were incubated for 3 hr with cultured cells derived from normal rabbit testes or human skin epithelium, then fixed, processed with critical-point drying, and examined with a Cambridge Mark 2A scanning electron microscope. Large numbers of treponemes became attached to the cultured cells without altering the morphological integrity of the cultured cells. Attachment appeared to involve a very close physical proximity of treponemes to the cultured cells; at the site of attachment, no changes such as swelling or indentation of the cultured cell surface were observed. The addition of ruthenium red to the fixatives produced a treponemal-associated surface precipitate. This material, which is probably mucopolysaccharide and/or phospholipid, may be important in protecting the organisms against host defense mechanisms; in addition, it may be involved in the serological unresponsiveness of freshly prepared suspensions of T. pallidum.

Full text

PDF
1333

Images in this article

1334Image
on p.1334
1335Image
on p.1335
1336Image
on p.1336
1337Image
on p.1337
1338Image
on p.1338
1339Image
on p.1339
1340Image
on p.1340
1341Image
on p.1341
1342Image
on p.1342
1343Image
on p.1343

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bishop N. H., Miller J. N. Humoral immunity in experimental syphilis. II. The relationship of neutralizing factors in immune serum to acquired resistance. J Immunol. 1976 Jul;117(1):197–207. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. DeLAMATER E. D., SAURINO V. R., URBACH F. Studies on the immunology of spirochetoses. I. Effect of cortisone and experimental spirochetosis. Am J Syph Gonorrhea Vener Dis. 1952 Mar;36(2):127–139. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Fitzgerald T. J., Johnson R. C., Sykes J. A., Miller J. N. Interaction of Treponema pallidum (Nichols strain) with cultured mammalian cells: effects of oxygen, reducing agents, serum supplements, and different cell types. Infect Immun. 1977 Feb;15(2):444–452. doi: 10.1128/iai.15.2.444-452.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fitzgerald T. J., Miller J. N., Sykes J. A. Treponema pallidum (Nichols strain) in tissue cultures: cellular attachment, entry, and survival. Infect Immun. 1975 May;11(5):1133–1140. doi: 10.1128/iai.11.5.1133-1140.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HARDY P. H., Jr, NELL E. E. Study of the antigenic structure of Treponema pallidum by specific agglutination. Am J Hyg. 1957 Sep;66(2):160–172. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a119893. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. HUNTER E. F., DEACON W. E., MEYER P. E. AN IMPROVED FTA TEST FOR SYPHILIS, THE ABSORPTION PROCEDURE (FTA-ABS). Public Health Rep. 1964 May;79:410–412. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jones H. C., Roth I. L., Sanders W. M., 3rd Electron microscopic study of a slime layer. J Bacteriol. 1969 Jul;99(1):316–325. doi: 10.1128/jb.99.1.316-325.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Luft J. H. Ruthenium red and violet. II. Fine structural localization in animal tissues. Anat Rec. 1971 Nov;171(3):369–415. doi: 10.1002/ar.1091710303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. METZGER M. A study of the role of serum and tissue lysozyme upon the treponeme immobilization reaction. Am J Hyg. 1962 Nov;76:267–275. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a120282. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. METZGER M., HARDY P. H., Jr, NELL E. E. Influence of lysozyme upon the treponeme immobilization reaction. Am J Hyg. 1961 Mar;73:236–244. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a120182. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. METZGER M., RUCZKOWSKA J. INFLUENCE OF LYSOZYME UPON THE REACTIVITY OF TREPONEMA PALLIDUM IN THE FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY REACTION. Arch Immunol Ther Exp (Warsz) 1964;12:702–708. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Miller J. N. Development of an experimental syphilis vaccine. Med Clin North Am. 1972 Sep;56(5):1217–1220. doi: 10.1016/s0025-7125(16)32347-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Miller J. N. Immunity in experimental syphilis. VI. Successful vaccination of rabbits with Treponema pallidum, Nichols strain, attenuated by -irradiation. J Immunol. 1973 May;110(5):1206–1215. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rathlev T. Haemagglutination test utilizing pathogenic Treponema pallidum for the sero-diagnosis of syphilis. Br J Vener Dis. 1967 Sep;43(3):181–185. doi: 10.1136/sti.43.3.181. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. SCHMEROLD W., DEUBNER B. Elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen an Reiter-Spirochaetales und Nichols-Treponemen. Hautarzt. 1954 Nov;5(11):511–513. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. SCOTT V., DAMMIN G. J. Hyaluronidase and experimental syphilis. III. Metachromasia in syphilitic orchitis and its relationship to hyaluronic acid. Am J Syph Gonorrhea Vener Dis. 1950 Nov;34(6):501–514. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. SWAIN R. H. Electron microscopic studies of the morphology of pathogenic spirochaetes. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1955 Jan-Apr;69(1-2):117–128. doi: 10.1002/path.1700690117. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Savage D. C., Blumershine R. V. Surface-surface associations in microbial communities populating epithelial habitats in the murine gastrointestinal ecosystem: scanning electron microscopy. Infect Immun. 1974 Jul;10(1):240–250. doi: 10.1128/iai.10.1.240-250.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Szubinska B., Luft J. H. Ruthenium red and violet. 3. Fine structure of the plasma membrane and extraneous coats in amoebae (A. proteus and Chaos chaos). Anat Rec. 1971 Nov;171(3):417–441. doi: 10.1002/ar.1091710304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. TURNER T. B., HOLLANDER D. H. Cortisone in experimental syphilis; a preliminary note. Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp. 1950 Nov;87(5):505–509. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. TURNER T. B., HOLLANDER D. H. Studies on the mechanism of action of cortisone in experimental syphilis. Am J Syph Gonorrhea Vener Dis. 1954 Sep;38(5):371–387. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Takeuchi A., Zeller J. A. Ultrastructural identification of spirochetes and flagellated microbes at the brush border of the large intestinal epithelium of the rhesus monkey. Infect Immun. 1972 Dec;6(6):1008–1018. doi: 10.1128/iai.6.6.1008-1018.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wiegand S. E., Strobel P. L., Glassman L. H. Electron microscopic anatomy of pathogenic Treponema pallidum. J Invest Dermatol. 1972 Apr;58(4):186–204. doi: 10.1111/1523-1747.ep12539907. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Zeigler J. A., Jones A. M., Jones R. H., Kubica K. M. Demonstration of extracellular material at the surface of pathogenic T. pallidum cells. Br J Vener Dis. 1976 Feb;52(1):1–8. doi: 10.1136/sti.52.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES