ArticleJournal of clinical microbiology2001
New tests for syphilis: rational design of a PCR method for detection of Treponema pallidum in clinical specimens using unique regions of the DNA polymerase I gene.
Article in Journal of clinical microbiology, 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 209 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of Diagnostic Accuracy of PCR Targeting the 47-Kilodalton Protein Membrane Gene of Treponema pallidum and PCR Targeting the DNA Polymerase I Gene: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2015Pooled it
- Evaluation of treatment-related serological changes in Treponema pallidum subsp. endemicum infection using latex-based immunoassays, with comparison to Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- The Potential for Combined Treponemal/Nontreponemal Rapid Point-of-Care Test and Treponema pallidum Polymerase Chain Reaction in the Diagnosis of Gestational and Congenital Syphilis in a Low-Resource, High-Prevalence Setting: Pilot Data From Malawi.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2026Article
- Clinical Assessment of a Highly Multiplexed Panel Assay for the Diagnosis of Infectious Uveitis.American journal of ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Prospective evaluation of non-invasive saliva specimens for the diagnosis of syphilis and molecular surveillance ofJournal of clinical microbiology · 2024Article
- Multiplex Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Coupled Lateral Flow Assay for Point-of-Care Detection of Syphilis.Indian journal of microbiology · 2024Article
- Syphilis and leprosy coinfection: A diagnostic conundrum.JAAD case reports · 2024Article
- Low genetic diversity of Treponema pallidum ssp. pertenue (TPE) isolated from patients' ulcers in Namatanai District of Papua New Guinea: Local human population is infected by three TPE genotypes.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Article
- Refining Timely Diagnosis of Early Syphilis by Using Treponema pallidum PCR or IgM Immunoblotting Next to Conventional Serology for Syphilis.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2023Article
- A Systematic Review on Suitability of Molecular Techniques for Diagnosis and Research into Infectious Diseases of Concern in Resource-Limited Settings.Current issues in molecular biology · 2022Review
- British Columbia's Experience after Implementation of the Treponema pallidum Reverse Algorithm and PCR Detection, 2015 to 2020.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Detection of Treponema pallidum in whole blood samples of patients with syphilis by the polymerase chain reaction.Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo · 2022Article
- Use of a Multiplex PCR Assay To Assess the Presence of Treponema pallidum in Mucocutaneous Ulcerations in Patients with Suspected Syphilis.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2021Article
- Comparative Analysis of Molecular and Serologic Testing for Primary Syphilis: A Population-Based Cohort Study.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Article
- Penicillin Treatment Failure in Rabbit Syphilis Due to the Persistence of Treponemes (Frontiers in veterinary science · 2021Article
- Role of IgM testing in the diagnosis and post-treatment follow-up of syphilis: a prospective cohort study.BMJ open · 2020Article
- Successful isolation of Treponema pallidum strains from patients' cryopreserved ulcer exudate using the rabbit model.PloS one · 2020Article
- A lung abscess caused by secondary syphilis - the utility of polymerase chain reaction techniques in transbronchial biopsy: a case report.BMC infectious diseases · 2019Article
- Circulation of DistinctJournal of clinical microbiology · 2019Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A sensitive and specific PCR method to detect Treponema pallidum in clinical specimens was developed. PCR primers were designed based on two unique features of the DNA polymerase I gene (polA). The first distinctive characteristic is that the region codes for a high cysteine content and has low homology with similar regions of DNA polymerase I gene from known microorganisms. The second unique feature is the presence of four insertions in the gene. PCR tests using primers designed on the basis these regions reacted with various pathogenic T. pallidum subspecies but did not react with nonpathogenic treponemal species or other spirochetes. An additional 59 species of bacteria and viruses, including those that cause genital ulcers, tested negative. This PCR method is extremely robust and sensitive. The detection limit is about 10 to 25 organisms when analyzed on gel. However, the analytic sensitivity can be increased by at least 1 log, to a detection limit of a single organism, when the ABI 310 Prism Genetic Analyzer is used to detect fluorescence-labeled amplicons. We further used this test in a clinical setting and compared the results with results from a previously reported multiplex-PCR test (for T. pallidum, Haemophilus ducreyi, and herpes simplex virus). We tested 112 genital ulcer specimens by the polA PCR, obtaining a sensitivity of 95.8% and a specificity of 95.7%. These results suggest that the polA PCR is applicable as a routine clinical diagnostic test for syphilis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.