II. Pathophysiology
- Spirochetes
- Tiny (sub-microscopic) Gram Negative, corkscrew (helical) shaped Bacteria
- Replication
- Spirochetes replicate via transverse fission (asexual reproduction)
- Cell divides into two equal halves
- Cell Wall
- Phospholipid outer membrane
- Exposes few Proteins, reducing immune cell detection
- Unique layer to Spirochetes
- Lipoprotein membrane containing lipopolysaccharides (LPS)
- Peptidoglycan Layer (thin)
- Cytoplasmic membrane (thin, inner most layer)
- Phospholipid outer membrane
- Motility
- Axial filaments (thin endoflagella)
- Axial filaments are attached to the ends of the Spirochete cell wall
- Filaments do not protrude through the outer membrane (unique to Spirochetes)
- Filaments instead course along the Spirochete cell body (periplasmic flagella)
- Axial filaments rotate
- Spin the entire Spirochete, pushing it forward
III. Types
- Treponema
- Induce disease via host immune mediated inflammation
- Treponema species lack their own toxins
- Species
- Treponema pallidum (Syphilis)
- Treponema pertenue (Yaws)
- Treponema carateum (pinta)
- Induce disease via host immune mediated inflammation
- Borrelia
- Borrelia recurrentis (Louse-borne Relapsing Fever)
- Borrelia hermsii, Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia tunicate (Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever in North America)
- Borrelia Burgdorferi (Lyme Disease)
- Leptospira
IV. Labs
- Specific organism Serology
- Microscopy
- Spirochetes are too small to be seen on standard light microscopy without specific techniques
- May be identified on dark microscopy, silver stains or with immunofluorescence
V. References
- Gladwin, Trattler and Mahan (2014) Clinical Microbiology, Medmaster, Fl, p. 128
- Paster (2000) J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2(4):341-4 +PMID: 11075904 [PubMed]