Treponema pallidum Xyam Pant

SPIROCHETES
(Speira- coil; Chaite- hair)
• The spirochetes are a large, heterogeneous group of CLASSIFICATION
spiral/helical motile bacteria belonging to order Order: Spirochaetales
spirochaetales. Family: Spirochetaceae
• One family (Spirochaetaceae) of the order Genera: Spirochaeta, Cristispira, Treponema, Borrelia
Spirochaetales consists of two genera whose Family: Leptospiraceae
Genera: Leptospira, Leptonema
members are human pathogens-Borrelia and
Treponema. The other family (Leptospiraceae)
includes one genus of medical importance-Leptospira. Some spirochaetes are free living, and some are
part of the normal flora of humans and animals as well. The oral cavity, particularly the dental crevice,
harbors a number of nonpathogenic species of Treponema and Borrelia as part of its flora. Treponemes
such as T. vincentii, T. denticola, T. refringens, T. socranskii, and T. pectinovorum are normal inhabitants
of the oral cavity or the human genital tract
• Although they are Gram negative, many of them either take stains poorly or are too thin to fall within the
resolving power of the light microscope.
• The spiral morphology of spirochetes is produced by a flexible, peptidoglycan cell wall around which
several axial fibrils/endoflagella are wound.
• The cell wall and axial fibrils are completely covered by an outer bilayered membrane similar to the outer
membrane of other Gram-negative bacteria.
• The spirochaetal outer membrane is unusually lipid rich and, at least in some treponemes, appears to be
protein deficient and lack lipopolysaccharide. This may account for the susceptibility of these organisms
to killing by detergents and desiccation.
• Depending on the species, they can be microaerophilic, aerobic, or anaerobic. Some species can be grown
in artificial media whereas others cannot.
• In some species, a hyaluronic acid slime layer/sheath forms around the exterior of the organism and
may contribute to its virulence.
• Spirochetes are motile, exhibiting rotation and flexion/bending; this motility is believed to result from
movement of the axial filaments, although the mechanism is not clear.
• Many spirochetes are difficult to see by routine microscopy. Although they are Gram negative, many
take stains poorly and are too thin to fall within the resolving power of the light microscope. Only dark
field microscopy immunofluorescence, or special staining techniques can demonstrate the spirochetes.
However, spirochetes such as Borrelia are wider and readily visible in stained preparations.

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Treponema pallidum Xyam Pant

TREPONEMA PALLIDUM (Trepos -to turn; nema-thread)

(Discovered by Schaudinn and Hoffmann In 1905)
Treponemes are the species of genus Treponema. They are slender spirochetes with fine spirals and pointed
ends. Some of them are pathogenic for humans, while others occur as commensals in mouth and genital tract.
The pathogenic treponemes are obligatory intracellular and cannot be grown on general laboratory media
while the commensals can be grown on artificial cell free culture medium. The Treponema species pathogenic
for humans include T. pallidum subspecies pallidum, which causes venereal syphilis; T. pallidum subspecies
pertenue, which causes yaws; T. pallidum subspecies endemicum, which causes endemic syphilis or bejel; and
T. carateum, which causes pinta.

MORPHOLOGY
1. Treponema pallidum is a long, slender,
helically coiled/curved, spiral, or
corkscrew shaped, flexible rod with
tapering ends. The cell has 6-12 coils. The
spiral coils are regularly spaced at a
distance of 1 µm from one another making
the cells resemble a corkscrew.
2. Treponema species have fine cytoplasmic
filaments are visible in the bacterial
cytoplasm (but these are absent in Borrelia
species).
3. Treponemal flagella are complex,
comprising a sheath and core (whereas those of Borrelia species are simpler and similar to the flagella of
other bacteria).
4. T. pallidum, do not have lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or endotoxin in the outer membrane, contains few
proteins and is unusually lipid rich. This may account for the susceptibility of these organisms to killing
by detergents and desiccation.
5. The organism is gram negative but the organism cannot be stained by gram staining. Because of its slender
thickness about the limit of resolution by light microscope, it is best seen in wet living preparation with
dark-field or phase contrast microscope or by negative staining. In dried preparations, it needs to be
thickened by silver impregnation methods (Fontana's method is useful for staining films and Levaditi's
method for tissue sections).
6. Size: 5-15 µm X 0.1-0.2 µm. The resolution of light microscope is just enough to visualize it.
Treponema pallidum comprises of 3-4 endoflagella. It is motile by means of these endoflagella, exhibiting
rotation and flexion. This motility is believed to result from movement of the axial filaments, although the
mechanism is not clear. The characteristic motility consists of rapid rotation about its longitudinal axis with
sudden 90-degree angle flexions/bends, as if a gentleman quickly bowing at the waist. Their motility has
been variously referred to as corkscrew-like movement with flexion, graceful flexious movement or lazy
polite movement or gentleman's movement.
7. Treponema pallidum is covered by an outer sheath/capsule of glycosaminoglycan (hyaluronic acid).