Host Response to Treponema pallidum Infection

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Abstract
Sera from rabbits infected intratesticularly with T. pallidum but not from animals injected intratesticularly with other bacteria or with extract of normal rabbit testes demonstrated autoantibody to heart tissue. The antibody was organ-specific with cross-reactivity to skeletal muscle but was not species-specific. It could not be absorbed by T. pallidum, T. reiteri, Veneral Disease Research Laboratory reagent or rabbit mitochondrial preparation. The antibody had a transitional pattern of appearance; it could be demonstrated between 30 and 60 days after infection but it decreased or disappeared thereafter. In many instances, it could be shown between 2 and 3 yr after infection. The finding of the heart-reacting antibody strongly suggests an autoimmune phenomenon associated with T. pallidum infection.

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