Antigenic complexity of Treponema pallidum: antigenicity and surface localization of major polypeptides.

The protein structure of Treponema pallidum was characterized by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE), consisting of isoelectric focusing (IEF, pH 5 to 7) in the first dimension and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) in the second dimension. Up to 85 major polypeptide species could be detected in the organisms in 2DE gels by Coomassie Blue staining. The antigenicity of the individual polypeptides was determined by transferring the 2DE pattern to nitrocellulose paper and utilizing a sensitive immunoperoxidase procedure to demonstrate the reactivity of immunoglobulins in sera obtained from rabbits infected intratesticularly at least 6 mo previously. The infected rabbit serum reacted with virtually every major polypeptide detectable by protein staining techniques, indicating that infected rabbits produce antibodies against nearly all major T. pallidum proteins at the time when the animals exhibit systemic resistance to reinfection. Surface radioiodination of freshly purified T. pallidum by an Iodogen procedure yielded preferential labeling of a major polypeptide with an apparent m.w. of 39,000. The results of this study indicate that the antigenic complexity of T. pallidum is much greater than described previously. The 39-kd polypeptide appears to be a major surface constituent of T. pallidum and as such may play an important role in the induction of immunity to syphilis.