[The centenary of Wassermann reaction--the future of serological diagnosis of syphilis, up-to-date studies].

One hundred years after the discovery of the infectious agent of syphilis and implementation of the first serological test for the diagnosis of syphilis, important progress in the evaluation of host immune response against Treponema (T.) pallidum infection has been made. The paper focuses on the new modifications of non-treponemal tests (the use of synthetic cardiolipin and lecithin in Venereal Disease Research Laboratory--VDRL test and the application of the VDRL antigen to immunoenzymatic assays) as well as of treponemal tests. Original treponemal antigens are replaced by recombinant and synthetic antigens (TpN44,5- TmpA, TpN15, TpN17 and TpN47) and by antigens obtained after sequencing of the complete T. pallidum genome (Tp0453, Tp0257 and Tp92) in modifications of immunoenzymatic assays. The new diagnostic strategy, namely the examination of the number of cells producing T. pallidum specific antibodies is also presented. Despite the progress achieved in studies on humoral response in syphilis during last years, the practical application of new tests in diagnosis of the infection requires further studies.