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Infectious syphilis, caused by the spirochete bacteriumTreponema pallidum subsp.pallidum , remains a public health concern worldwide. The immune-response evasion mechanisms employed byT. pallidum are poorly understood, and prior attempts to identify immunoprotective antigens for subsequent vaccine design have been unsuccessful. Previous investigations conducted in our laboratory identified theT. pallidum glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase as a potential immunoprotective antigen by using a differential immunologic expression library screen. In studies reported here, heterologous expression of theT. pallidum glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase inEscherichia coli yielded a full-length, enzymatically active protein. Characterization of the recombinant molecule showed it to be bifunctional, in that it exhibited specific binding to human immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgD, and IgG in addition to possessing enzymatic activity. IgG fractionation studies revealed specific binding of the recombinant enzyme to the Fc fragment of human IgG, a characteristic that may play a role in enabling the syphilis spirochete to evade the host immune response. In further investigations, immunization with the recombinant enzyme significantly protected rabbits from subsequentT. pallidum challenge, altering lesion development at the sites of challenge. In all cases, animals immunized with the recombinant molecule developed atypical pale, flat, slightly indurated, and nonulcerative reactions at the challenge sites that resolved before lesions appeared in the control animals. Although protection in the immunized rabbits was incomplete, as demonstrated by the presence ofT. pallidum in the rabbit infectivity test, glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase nevertheless represents a significantly immunoprotectiveT. pallidum antigen and thus may be useful for inclusion in an antigen cocktail vaccine for syphilis.

Function and Protective Capacity ofTreponema pallidumsubsp.pallidumGlycerophosphodiester Phosphodiesterase