Musher D M, Schell R F, Knox J M
Infect Immun. 1974 Apr;9(4):654-7. doi: 10.1128/iai.9.4.654-657.1974.
The response of lymphocytes from patients with syphilis and normal subjects was studied in vitro by using phytohemagglutinin (PHA), pokeweed mitogen (PWM), streptolysin O (SLO), and a preparation of Treponema refringens. Normal lymphocytes exhibited a dose-response curve to treponemes. Although lymphocytes from patients with primary and secondary syphilis responded normally to PHA and PWM, their response to SLO was suppressed and they failed to show significant stimulation by treponemes. Serum from syphilitic patients did not affect normal lymphocytes, and culturing lymphocytes from patients with syphilis in normal serum did not restore their responsiveness. Six to 10 weeks after syphilitic patients had been treated, the degree of stimulation by treponemes was the same as for normal subjects. These data give indirect support to the hypothesis that immunological suppression occurs during active infection with T. pallidum.
采用植物血凝素（PHA）、商陆有丝分裂原（PWM）、链球菌溶血素O（SLO）和一种屈折密螺旋体制剂，在体外研究了梅毒患者和正常受试者淋巴细胞的反应。正常淋巴细胞对密螺旋体呈现剂量反应曲线。虽然一期和二期梅毒患者的淋巴细胞对PHA和PWM反应正常，但其对SLO的反应受到抑制，且未显示出密螺旋体的显著刺激作用。梅毒患者的血清不影响正常淋巴细胞，在正常血清中培养梅毒患者的淋巴细胞也不能恢复其反应性。梅毒患者接受治疗6至10周后，密螺旋体的刺激程度与正常受试者相同。这些数据间接支持了在梅毒螺旋体活跃感染期间发生免疫抑制的假说。
