Coiled Spring

Although the spiral bacteria, or spirochetes, that cause syphilis were identified in 1905 and have been stained and photographed thousands of times since, they have defied all the efforts of microbiologists to grow them in the test tube. Man is the only natural host of the microbes, called Treponema pallidum, but some animals, notably rabbits and monkeys, can be infected with them. Why then have they proved so resistant to cultivation in glassware?

Two Massachusetts researchers suggest that the answer lies in a simple mistake made back in 1905: when early researchers noted that the syphilis bacteria die on exposure to air, they assumed that the microbes were anaerobic, meaning that they could not live in the presence of oxygen.

To Dr. Charles D. Cox, at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, this seemed paradoxical because spirochetes infecting humans or animals flourish in oxygen-rich blood and cells. With Technician Miriam K. Barber he began experimenting with a virulent strain of syphilis bacteria grown in rabbits. Using a recently developed, extremely sensitive technique for measuring oxygen concentrations, the two investigators found that the spirochetes, far from being anaerobic, consume oxygen in their metabolism. In the journal Infection and Immunity they suggest the "strong possibility" that oxygen is necessary for the reproduction and growth of the organisms. As to why they die on exposure to air, Cox is already working on that puzzle.

Cox has no illusions that his finding will lead to the immediate conquest of syphilis. He must find out just what nutrients and how much oxygen the spirochetes need. Then will come the task of getting them to multiply in the test tube. Only after that will it be possible to work on preparing a vaccine.

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