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Phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity among cultivable pathogen-related oral spirochetes and Treponema vincentii

G R Riviere1, K S Smith, S G Willis

  • 1Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon 97201-3097, USA. riviereg@ohsu.edu

Journal of Clinical Microbiology
|October 19, 1999
PubMed

Insights

Pathogen-related oral spirochetes (PROS) are not closely related to Treponema pallidum. Oral treponema isolates are a diverse group, sharing genetic similarities with Treponema vincentii and Treponema medium, not T. pallidum.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Oral microbiology
  • Bacteriology

Background:

  • Pathogen-related oral spirochetes (PROS) were previously thought to be related to Treponema pallidum.
  • Previous studies indicated cross-reactivity between T. pallidum antibodies and oral treponemas, suggesting a potential link.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if growth conditions affect antigen phenotypes of oral treponemas.
  • To genetically assess the relationship between cultivable PROS and Treponema pallidum and Treponema vincentii.

Main Methods:

  • Culturing oral treponemas in OMIZ-Pat and NOS media.
  • Immunoblotting using monoclonal antibodies against T. pallidum.
  • Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with species-specific primers for T. pallidum, T. vincentii, and T. medium.
  • 16S ribosomal DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis.
  • Arbitrarily primed-PCR for genomic profiling.

Main Results:

  • Monoclonal antibodies against T. pallidum cross-reacted with oral treponemas grown in OMIZ-Pat medium, but not NOS medium.
  • Only one antibody (H9-2) showed cross-reactivity in immunoblots with oral treponemas and T. vincentii.
  • PCR and 16S rDNA RFLP analyses indicated that PROS isolates are genetically similar to T. vincentii and T. medium, but not T. pallidum.
  • Arbitrarily primed-PCR revealed distinct genomic profiles among PROS isolates and T. vincentii strains.

Conclusions:

  • Oral treponema isolates are a heterogeneous group.
  • PROS share 16S rRNA gene sequences with T. vincentii and T. medium, but not T. pallidum.
  • The term PROS should be discontinued due to the lack of a clear relationship with T. pallidum.

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