ANALYSIS OF Treponema pallidum RECOMBINANT ANTIGENS FOR DIAGNOSIS OF SYPHILIS BY WESTERN BLOTTING TECHNIQUE

• Main Authors: Neuza Satomi SATO, Mário H. HIRATA, Rosário D.C. HIRATA, Lia Carmen M.S. ZERBINI, Edilene P.R. SILVEIRA, Carmem Silvia de MELO, Mirthes UEDA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 1999
• Subjects: Recombinant antigen; Treponema pallidum; Western blotting; Syphilis; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/c0c8b18e5fd4440380d93cc3babbc7a4

Three GST fusion recombinant antigen of Treponema pallidum, described as GST-rTp47, GST-rTp17 and GST-rTp15 were analyzed by Western blotting techniques. We have tested 53 serum samples: 25 from patients at different clinical stages of syphilis, all of them presenting anti-treponemal antibody, 25 from healthy blood donors and three from patients with sexually transmitted disease (STD) other than syphilis. Almost all samples from patients with syphilis presented a strong reactivity with GST-rTp17 antigen. Some samples were non-reactive or showed a weak reaction with GST-rTp47 and/or GST-rTp15, and apparently there was no correlation with the stage of disease. There was no seropositivity among blood donors. No sample reacted with purified GST. We concluded that due to their specificity these recombinant antigens can be used as GST fusion protein for development of syphilis diagnostic assays.