Premium
In Vitro Cultivation of the Syphilis Spirochete Treponema pallidum
Author(s) -
Edmondson Diane G.,
Norris Steven J.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
current protocols
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2691-1299
DOI - 10.1002/cpz1.44
Subject(s) - treponema , biology , in vitro , microbiology and biotechnology , syphilis , tissue culture , virology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , genetics
For over a century, investigation of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum , the spiral‐shaped bacterium that causes syphilis, was hindered by an inability to culture the organism in vitro. A recent breakthrough has enabled continuous in vitro growth of this organism in co‐culture with mammalian tissue culture cells. This article contains the protocols needed to culture T. pallidum in the standard laboratory environment. In addition, protocols for growing and maintaining the required tissue culture cells, for generating isogenic strains by limiting dilution, and for quantitating T. pallidum by darkfield microscopy are included. © 2021 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This article was corrected on 19 July 2022. See the end of the full text for details. Basic Protocol 1 : In vitro cultivation of T reponema pallidum Basic Protocol 2 : Generation of isogenic strains Support Protocol 1 : Alternate harvest procedure Support Protocol 2 : Culture of Sf1Ep cells Support Protocol 3 : Assessment of T. pallidum number and viability