Target organs of infection in guinea pigs with acquired congenital syphilis

The target organs of infection in guinea pigs with asymptomatic acquired or congenital syphilis were identified by PCR and in some cases by rabbit infectivity test (RIT). The prevalence of Treponema pallidum DNA was examined in the following seven organs: the inguinal and mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, liver, kidney, heart, and brain. Test samples consisted of 95 organs from two genetically different strains of female guinea pigs (C4-deficient and Albany) with different susceptibilities to cutaneous infection by T. pallidum and 195 organs from their asymptomatic offspring. Twenty organs from dams of both strains injected with heat-killed T. pallidum and 19 organs from their progeny served as negative controls. The infections of mothers and neonates were documented by PCR, RIT, and serology. Though any of the organs tested could be infected, there was a spirochetal predilection for some anatomical locations, such as the lymph nodes, heart, and brain, regardless of the strain, route of maternal infection, and age. None of the 49 organs collected from control animals were positive by PCR. In infected C4-deficient dams, one to four organs were positive by PCR, whereas the organs of 7 of their 27 (25%) asymptomatic offspring were treponemal DNA negative, despite evidence of immunoglobulin M treponemal antibodies. Comparative analysis done by both PCR and RIT on a limited number of samples showed 90% agreement between results. An examination of multiple samples obtained from single organs demonstrated that even within 24 h of spirochetemia, when most organs appeared to be infected, not all samples from an individual organ were positive by PCR. A specific immunological response in guinea pigs with congenital syphilis was a more consistent parameter of vertical transmission than was an analysis of T. pallidum DNA.