# IDENTIFICATION AND CLONING OF KEY T PALLIDUM PROTEINS

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 1987 · $130,707

## Abstract

Treponema pallidum is the etiologic agent of syphilis.  Virtually nothing
is known concerning the virulence determinants of this organism, due to the
inability to successfully cultivate this spirochete in vitro for sustained
periods.  Although T. pallidum can be cultivated in rabbits and purified in
small quantities, such procedures usually result in loss of virulence.
Hence, it is difficult and expensive to obtain sufficient quantities of
treponemes for meaningful analyses.  In our laboratory, we are seeking
express in Escherichia coli the genetic information encoding the important
proteins of T. pallidum.  Our long term objective is to produce these
treponemal proteins in sufficient quantity such that their role in syphilis
and possibly other human treponematoses can be defined, and their
applicability as vaccinogens and/or improved serodiagnostic reagents can be
investigated.  For the project period, we propose to do the following:  (i)
Identify key treponemal proteins as targets for our cloning efforts.  We
are concentrating on those cellular and extracellular proteins that are in
direct contact with the tissues of the infected host.  We have developed a
protocol that allows us to radiolabel treponemal proteins in vitro with
S35-methionine to a very high specific activity.  This permits us to
effectively work with small quantities of material.  We have tentatively
identified a number of surface-exposed and extracellular protein antigens
of T. pallidum.  These will be further characterized.  (ii) We will attempt
to identify E. coli clones expressing specific T. pallidum proteins of
interest.  We have constructed two libraries of T. pallidum genomic DNA
using two different vector systems.  We have developed techniques to screen
for clones expressing treponemal antigens.  One specific 39K surface
protein of T. pallidum has been cloned, expressed in E. coli in large
quantity, and purified, demonstrating the feasibility of this research
project.  (iii) We will initiate a variety of studies aimed at determining
the biological significance of the specific treponemal proteins under
investigation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3128612
- **Project number:** 5R01AI019267-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** D3LHU66KBLD5
- **Principal Investigator:** PHILIP J BASSFORD
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1987
- **Award amount:** $130,707
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1982-08-01 → 1990-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3128612

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3128612, IDENTIFICATION AND CLONING OF KEY T PALLIDUM PROTEINS (5R01AI019267-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3128612. Licensed CC0.

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