The sequence-variable, single-copy tprK gene of Treponema pallidum Nichols strain UNC and Street strain 14 encodes heterogeneous TprK proteins.

ABSTRACT: Syphilis is a chronic infection with early relapses that are hypothesized to result from the emergence of phenotypic variants of Treponema pallidum. Recent studies demonstrated that TprK, a target of protective immunity, is heterogeneous in several T. pallidum strains, but not in Nichols strain Seattle (A. Centurion-Lara, C. Godornes, C. Castro, W. C. Van Voorhis, and S. A. Lukehart, Infect. Immun. 68:824-831, 2000). Analysis of PCR-amplified tprK from Nichols strain UNC and Street strain 14 treponemes showed that TprK has seven regions of intrastrain heterogeneity resulting from amino acid substitutions, insertions, and deletions. In contrast, analysis of PCR-amplified tprJ showed little intrastrain or interstrain heterogeneity. Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis demonstrated that mRNA tr

SUBMITTER: Stamm LV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC97738 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature