Parameters Affecting Continuous In VitroCulture of Treponema pallidumStrains

Syphilis is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidumsubsp. pallidum. Until recently, this pathogen could only be maintained through infection of rabbits or other animals, making study of this important human pathogen challenging and costly. T. pallidumsubsp. pallidumhas now been successfully cultured for over 3 years in a tissue culture system using a medium called TpCM-2.