Growth enhancement of the Reiter treponeme by fatty acids.

Interest in the Reiter strain of Treponema pallidum, a nonpathogenic, cultivatable, anaerobic spirochete, has been stimulated by the demonstration that the organism possesses four antigens; one, a thermolabile protein, being group specific for treponemes (D'Alessandro et al., 1949). This antigen has recently been employed in a Reiter protein complement fixation test for syphilis (Cannefax and Garson, 1957). Studies comparing the results of the Reiter protein complement fixation tests, the T. pallidum complement fixation test, and the T. pallidum immobilization test on syphilitic sera show, in general, that the Reiter protein complement fixation test antigen has a specificity and sensitivity comparable to the T. pallidum complement fixation and T. pallidum immobilization test antigens (D'Alessandro and Dardanoni, 1953; Cannefax and Garson, 1957; Rein et al., 1957; De Bruijn, 1957; De Bruijn and Bekker, 1957; Miller et al., 1958). Of the three tests mentioned above (Reiter protein complement fixation, T. pallidum complement fixation, and T. pallidum immobilization), the antigen for the Reiter protein complement fixation test is most readily available since the organism from which it is extracted can be conveniently cultivated in large quantities. Several media have been used in the past for the cultivation of the Reiter treponeme (Reiter, 1926; Little and SubbaRow, 1945; Whiteley and Frazier, 1948; Gelperin, 1949; Rose and Morton, 1952; Gastinel et al., 1956). All are complex in composition, generally consisting of peptone, tissue extracts or serum, a reducing agent, such as thioglycolate, and other supplements. Extensive studies on the nutritional requirements of