Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1978 Mar;19(3):814-21.
doi: 10.1128/iai.19.3.814-821.1978.

Effects of fatty acids on motility retention by Treponema pallidum in vitro

H M Matthews, H M Jenkin, K Crilly, P L Sandok

Effects of fatty acids on motility retention by Treponema pallidum in vitro

H M Matthews et al. Infect Immun. 1978 Mar.

Abstract

Treponema pallidum (Nichols virulent strain) was incubated under 75% N2 + 20% H2 + 5% CO2 in prereduced serum-free modified Eagle-Richter medium supplemented with different concentrations of various long-chain fatty acids complexed with fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin. Motility retention was greater in medium with oleic acid containing 15 rather than 2 mg of albumin per ml. Palmitic, stearic, oleic, or linoleic acid alone caused rapid loss of motility at concentrations as low as 5 microgram/ml. Elaidic acid (92 microgram/ml) alone had no effect on motility. Various combinations of saturated plus unsaturated fatty acids did not inhibit motility retention or were less inhibitory than either of the individual fatty acid components. The combination of palmitic plus oleic acids was least toxic. Rapid loss of motility occurred with pairs of unsaturated or saturated fatty acids, or with Tween 40, 60, or 80, alone or combined. Autoxidation of oleic acid resulted in decreased toxicity for T. pallidum but increased toxicity for baby hamster kidney cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Infect Immun. 1977 Aug;17(2):303-12 - PubMed
    1. Infect Immun. 1977 Feb;15(2):444-52 - PubMed
    1. Infect Immun. 1977 Apr;16(1):60-8 - PubMed
    1. J Infect Dis. 1977 Aug;136(2):308-11 - PubMed
    1. J Clin Microbiol. 1976 Jan;3(1):72-4 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources