Infection and Drug Resistance (Dec 2022)
Analysis of Treponema pallidum DNA and CXCL13 in Cerebrospinal Fluid in HIV-Negative Syphilis Patients
Abstract
Ling Yang,* Yu Fu,* Si Li, Chang Liu, Donghua Liu Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Donghua Liu, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, No. 6, Shuang Yong Road, Nanning, 530021, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13877113417, Email [email protected]: Neurosyphilis (NS) is a chronic infectious disease associated with Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (TP) infection of the central nervous system. The purpose of this study was to offer evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of NS by revealing the detection of TP DNA and CXCL13 concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of HIV-negative syphilis patients.Patients and Methods: This study included 75 syphilis patients. The frequency of TP invasion into the CSF was detected by nested PCR. ELISA was performed to detect CSF CXCL13 concentrations, and ROC analysis was performed to assess diagnostic accuracy. Sociodemographic data, clinical symptoms, and laboratory indices of patients were collected. CSF CXCL13 levels and clinical characteristics of syphilis patients were investigated retrospectively.Results: The detection rate of CSF DNA of TP by nested PCR was 5.3% and 16.7% in HIV-negative syphilis patients and NS patients, respectively. There was a significant difference between the NS and non-NS groups in terms of neurological symptoms, CSF TPPA, CSF TRUST, CSF nucleated cells, CSF protein, and CSF CXCL13 levels (P 60 pg/mL has high sensitivity and specificity for NS patients and non-NS patients. CXCL13 may be a useful marker to distinguish NS from non-NS syphilis in HIV-negative patients.Keywords: neurosyphilis, Treponema pallidum, cerebrospinal fluid, CXCL13
