Effect of immunosuppressive agents on the course of experimental syphilis in rabbits

Rabbits infected intradermally with T. pallidum at four sites on the clipped back were treated with cyclophosphamide, 1 mg/kg body weight, twice before and every two days after inoculation for five months, or 5-fluorouracil 2.5 mg/kg body weight, according to the same regimen. Humoral response, as measured repeatedly by VDRL, FTA, and hemagglutination tests, was not affected by the application of the immunosuppressors. In contrast, the cell-mediated response, as determined by the Macrophage Migration Inhibition test was completely abolished in the treated rabbits. In the group of rabbits which were given immunosuppressors, syphilitic lesions appeared not only at the challenge sites, as usual, but also multiple multiform lesions developed over the entire dorsum after healing of the primary lesions. Taking into account the fact that abolishment of the cell-mediated response led to an aggravated course of the syphilitic infection, the results of these experiments were interpreted as indicating the protective role of the cell mediated response in syphilis.