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Serological reactions
-Serological tests used to detect and identify syphilis are divided into non-treponema and treponema tests, on the basis of the antigen used. Non-treponema! or lipoid tests involve the use of a non-specific antigen: cardiolipin, in combination with lecithin and cholesterol. Treponema tests involve the use of antigens directly derived from treponema or of the entire intact treponema. -Non-treponema! tests Antibodies demonstrable with the aid of non-treponema! tests used to be known as reagins~ These antibodies develop after infection with T. pallidum, but can also be found in other diseases and during pregnancy. They are able to unite with suspensions of lipid extracts of animal and vegetable origin, aggregating to form visible masses of the kind observed in flocculation tests. These masses are able to unite with complement, and this ability underlies the use of the complement fixation test.
ANTI-COMPLEMENTARITY
Anti-complementarity The term anti-complementarity applies when no haemolysis occurs in the
control tube of a complement fixation test, i.e. without antigen but in the
presence of the patient's serum. This phenomenon is often ascribed to complement-consuming complexes made up of cryoglobulins, rheumatoid
factors or large amounts of F-Qlobulins. The repeated occurrence of anticomplementary serological tests can be indicative of an immunological
abnormality or affection of the liver (Lassus and Mustakallio, 1973}, and therefore always cal Is for further internal examination (Schuller, 1 973;
FLOCCULATION TEST
Flocculation tests E. Meinicke (1917) was the first to describe a practicable flocculation test for syphilis, with the aid of the same antigen as used in the complement fixation test. They included the VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratories) test,usually performed as a microflocculation test, can be automated to a large extent. Its advantages in comparison with the Kolmer test are rapidity of performance and independence of a haemolytic system. In 1962, Portnoy et al. described the RPR (Rapid Plasma Reagin) card test, performed with the aid of a stable VDRL antigen suspension which contains carbon particles and which, with positive serum, causes flocculation which is readily made macroscopically visible by the carbon particles. An important advantage of this test over the classical VDRL test is simplicity of procedure and availability of a distinct and readily readable result within 10 minutes. modifications of flocculation tests have been developed with special emphasis on automation (ART, Automated Reagin Test) and on a more clear readability of the test result.
In a number of cases, non-treponema/ tests give a positive result in patients in whom a treponema/ infection can be excluded on the basis of the medical history, clinical findings and epidemiological data. Serum from a person not suffering from treponematosis can contain minute amounts of non-treponema/ antibodies (Kahn and Malloy, 1931) that are not demonstrable with the aid of the conventional serological tests. During an infection with some other microorganism, this amount can increase sufficiently to give rise to a positive non-treponema/ test, usually in low titres. This can also occur in auto-immune diseases, after vaccination, during pregnancy and in heroin addicts. These so-called biologically false-positive tests are further divided, according to the duration of their presence, into acute (maximally 6 months) and chronic (exceeding 6 months) biologically false-positive tests.
TreponemaL tests
As the limitations imposed on the classical serological tests by the antigen used gradually emerged, the need for tests using treponemaspecific antigens became more urgent.
Banffer et al. (1974, 1975) used the Reiter antigen in a counterimmunoelectrophoresis technique. As advantages they mentioned a higher specificity than the RPCF test and independence of a haemolytic system, thus eliminating possible anti-complementarity.
Fluorescent treponema! antibody absorption (FTA-ABS} test Falcone and Harris in 1957 described a test in which a Deacon,
fluorescence technique was used to demonstrate antibodies. This Fluorescent Treponema! Antibody (FTA} test made use of intact killed T.pallidum, dried on a microscope slide and incubated with a serum dilution (initially 1:5 but later, in view of many falsepositive tests, increased to 1:200}. After washing, a fluorescein-conjugated anti-human y-globul in is added, and eluted again after incubation. In UV light the treponemata then show a bright green fluorescence- at least when antibodies from the patientts serum are bound. Hunter et al. (1964) introduced initial absorption of the test serum with intact Reiter treponema.
This was based on earlier studies (Deacon and Hunter, 1962) which had shown that Reiter treponemata have certain antigenic determinants in common with T. pallidum. After absorption the specificity of the test (now cal Jed FTA-ABS test) was substantially increased without affecting its sensitivity. Later, a different absorbent was used for this purpose: the so-called sorbens, which is a concentrate of the supernatant of a heat-killed culture of Reiter treponemata(Stoutetal., 1967). This test soon proved to be very 23 sensitive both in untreated and in treated syphilis; in fact its sensitivity exceeded that of all other tests then available.
Fluorescent treponema! antibody absorption lgM (FTAABS-lgM) (1968) were the first to describe Scotti and Logan
application of the FTAABS test with a mono-specific conjugate, focused solely on demonstration of lgM antibodies. This test proved to be positive in neonates with congenital syphilis, but negative in unaffected infants of mothers with positive syphilis tests. The thus demonstrated presence of specific lgM-class antibodies might be indicative of active antibody production in the infant, in response to an infection with T.paflidum.
Treponema pallidum haemagglutination assay (TPHA} and Tomizawa and Kasamatsu {1966) almost Rathlev (1965)
simultaneously described the use of a passive haemagglutination technique in demonstrating antibodies against T. pall idum. The technique involves the use of tannintreated sheep erythrocytes, sensitized with an ultrasonicate ofT. pallidum. In this test an absorption procedure is carried out with the intention of eliminating possible cross-reacting antibodies against sheep erythrocytes and non-pathogenic treponemata. Otherwise these cross-reacting antibodies might influence the specificity of the test. Sequeira and Eldridge used turkey erythrocytes for the haemagglutination, without preceding absorption. The advantage of this test is that haemagglutination is visible within 1 hour of addition of the test serum if it contains antibodies {whereas with sheep erythrocytes this takes 4 hours).