The Application of Cytokine Expression Assays to Differentiate Active From Previously Treated Syphilis

J Infect Dis. 2020 Jul 23;222(4):690-694. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa127.

Abstract

To investigate the role of serum cytokine assays to distinguish between active from treated syphilis among serofast patients, we recruited individuals into a prospective cohort study. Participants underwent routine syphilis screening. We selected specimens from a majority cohort of serofast participants with treated and active syphilis. We analyzed specimens with a 62-cytokine multiplex bead-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cytokines, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and tumor necrosis factor β, were most predictive. We built a decision tree that was 82.4% accurate, 100% (95% confidence interval, 82%-100%) sensitive, and 45% (18%-75%) specific. Our decision tree differentiated between serum specimens from serofast participants with treated syphilis versus active syphilis.

Keywords: Assay; Cytokine; Syphilis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / blood*
  • Decision Trees
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Humans
  • Lymphotoxin-alpha / blood*
  • Prospective Studies
  • Syphilis / blood
  • Syphilis / drug therapy*
  • Syphilis Serodiagnosis
  • Treponema pallidum / immunology*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
  • Lymphotoxin-alpha