ABSTRACT
The genus Treponema consists of pathogenic and nonpathogenic spirochetes. The former are noncultivable in vitro, while the latter can be propagated in artificial media. There is a great number of nonpathogenic treponemes. Consequently the nonvenereal treponematoses have several features in common with syphilis, including the production of treponemal and phospholipid antibodies that are indistinguishable from those recognized in syphilis. It is known that phospholipids are normal constituents of cytoplasmic and mitochondrial membranes. Mitochondria—the cell’s “power plants”—consist largely of intricate, folded membranes in which protein synthesis takes place. The mitochondrial membrane is thought to serve the function of organizing the action of many enzymes associated with the mitochondrial system. Antibodies to phospholipids are produced not only as a result of infection with T. pallidum, but also after infection with various other microorganisms in diseases associated with inflammation of tissues, in immune disorders, and even during pregnancy and aging.
