Serodiagnosis of syphilis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with purified recombinant Treponema pallidum antigen 4D.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for syphilis has been developed that detects IgG antibody to purified recombinant Treponema pallidum surface antigen 4D. The 4D ELISA was capable of detecting 25 ng of 4D antigen-specific antibody. Neither 172 nonsyphilitic sera nor 20 false-positive sera in the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test reacted in the 4D ELISA. The sensitivity of the 4D ELISA was comparable to that of the adsorbed fluorescent treponemal antibody test in primary, secondary, and latent disease. Most sera from patients with yaws or pinta were also reactive, a result indicating that a 4D antigen-like molecule also exists in the closely related pathogenic treponemes Treponema pertenue and Treponema carateum.