Tpr Homologs inTreponema paraluiscuniculiCuniculi A Strain

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Abstract
Treponema paraluiscuniculi, the etiologic agent of rabbit venereal syphilis, is morphologically indistinguishable fromTreponema pallidumsubsp.pallidum(T. pallidum), the human syphilis treponeme, and induces similar immune responses and histopathologic changes in the infected host. Because of their high degree of relatedness, comparative studies are likely to identify genetic determinants that contribute to pathogenesis or virulence in human syphilis. Thetpr(Treponema pallidumrepeat) genes are believed to code for potential virulence factors. In this study, we identified 10tprhomologs inTreponema paraluiscuniculiCuniculi A strain and determined their sequence architecture. Half of this group of paralogous genes were predicted to be nonfunctional due to the presence of frameshifts and premature stop codons. Furthermore, the immune response against theT. paraluiscuniculiTpr homologs in long-term-infected rabbits was studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and lymphocyte proliferation assay, showing that TprK is the only target of the antibody and T-cell responses during experimental infection and emphasizing the importance of this putative virulence factor in venereal treponematosis.