Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31929602›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Successful isolation of Treponema pallidum strains from patients' cryopreserved ulcer exudate using the rabbit model.

Lara E Pereira, Samantha S Katz, Yongcheng Sun, Patrick Mills, Willie Taylor, Patricia Atkins, Charles M Thurlow, Kai-Hua Chi, Damien Danavall, Nicholas Cook and 9 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Frontiers in immunology · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. In vitro isolation of contemporary Treponema pallidum strains directly from clinical samples of syphilis patients.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Lara E PereiraDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-5192-5597
Samantha S KatzDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Yongcheng SunDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Patrick MillsDivision of Scientific Resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Willie TaylorDivision of Scientific Resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Patricia AtkinsCharles River Laboratories, Wilmington, MA, United States of America.
Charles M ThurlowOak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, United States of America.
Kai-Hua ChiDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Damien DanavallDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Nicholas CookOak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, United States of America.
Tamanna AhmedOak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, United States of America.
Alyssa DebraOak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, United States of America.
Susan PhilipSan Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.
Stephanie CohenSan Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, CA, United States of America.
Kimberly A WorkowskiDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Ellen KershDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Yetunde FakileDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Cheng Y ChenDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Allan PillayDivision of STD Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · USOak Ridge Associated Universities · USSan Francisco Department of Public Health · USCharles River Laboratories (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Clinical isolates of Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum (T. pallidum) would facilitate study of prevalent strains. We describe the first successful rabbit propagation of T. pallidum from cryopreserved ulcer specimens. Fresh ulcer exudates were collected and cryopreserved with consent from syphilis-diagnosed patients (N = 8). Each of eight age-matched adult male rabbits were later inoculated with a thawed specimen, with two rabbits receiving 1.3 ml intratesticularly (IT), and six receiving 0.6 ml intravenously (IV) and IT. Monitoring of serology, blood PCR and orchitis showed that T. pallidum grew in 2/8 rabbits that were inoculated IV and IT with either a penile primary lesion specimen (CDC-SF003) or a perianal secondary lesion specimen (CDC-SF007). Rabbit CDC-SF003 was seroreactive by T. pallidum Particle Agglutination (TP-PA) and Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) testing, PCR+, and showed orchitis by week 6. Euthanasia was performed in week 7, with treponemal growth in the testes confirmed and quantified by qPCR and darkfield microscopy (DF). Serial passage of the extract in a second age-matched rabbit also yielded treponemes. Similarly, rabbit CDC-SF007 showed negligible orchitis, but was seroreactive and PCR+ by week 4 and euthanized in week 6 to yield T. pallidum, which was further propagated by second passage. Using the 4-component molecular typing system for syphilis, 3 propagated strains (CDC-SF003, CDC-SF007, CDC-SF008) were typed as 14d9f, 14d9g, and 14d10c, respectively. All 3 isolates including strain CDC-SF011, which was not successfully propagated, had the A2058G mutation associated with azithromycin resistance. Our results show that immediate cryopreservation of syphilitic ulcer exudate can maintain T. pallidum viability for rabbit propagation.

Indexed as

AnimalsCryopreservationDisease Models, AnimalHumansMaleMolecular TypingRabbitsSyphilisTreponema pallidum

Identifiers

PMID31929602
PMCPMC6957173
OpenAlexW3000538598

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC0
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.