Ceruloplasmin can substitute for rabbit serum in stimulating the growth of Treponema denticola.

The growth of Treponema denticola in a complex medium was stimulated by human ceruloplasmin and, to a lesser extent, albumin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, and alpha-2-macroglobulin. Human ceruloplasmin could stimulate growth of T. denticola as well as or better than 5% rabbit serum, with a dose-response relationship of between 1 and 5 mg of ceruloplasmin per ml of culture medium. These results suggest that ceruloplasmin could substitute for rabbit serum in stimulating the growth of T. denticola.