IMMUNOLOGICAL CROSS‐REACTION BETWEEN ANTIGEN Tp‐4 OF TREPONEMA PALLIDUM AND AN ANTIGEN COMMON TO A WIDE RANGE OF BACTERIA

Abstract
By electro-immunoprecipitation methods it was shown that antigen Tp-4 of T. pallidum, antigen TR-c of the Reiter treponeme and Common Antigen of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are immunologically cross-reactive. This finding establishes a taxonomic relationship between T. pallidum and a wide range of bacteria. The cross-reactivity explains some false positive reactions in serodiagnostic treponemal tests for syphilis. The cross-reactivity may also play a role in a possible normal immunity against infection with T. pallidum induced by antigens by the normal human bacterial flora.

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