Comparison of the VDRL slide, TPI, and FTA-ABS tests in experimental syphilis in rabbits.

Abstract

test forreagin activity. Many tests forreagin activity havebeendeveloped since then, including theKline, Kahn,Hinton, Kolmer, Mazzini, andVDRL slide tests. However, noneof these isabsolutely specific forsyphilis. TheVDRL slide test(Harris, Rosenberg, andRiedel, 1946), whichutilizes acardiolipin-leci thin antigen, isthat mostwidely usedintheUnitedStates. TheTreponemapallidum immobilization (TPI)test, developed byNelson andMayer(1949), wasthefirst serological procedure utilizingthe causative organism Treponema pallidum asthetestantigen. Although several treponemal tests ofvarious sensitivities andspecificities havesubsequently beendeveloped, theTPI test is, atpresent, themostwidely knownverification test fordiagnostic problem cases, butitisnoteasily performed andisavailable inonlyafewreference laboratories. The most promising procedure forTPI replacement isthefluorescent treponemal antibodyabsorption (FTA-ABS) test (1965), whichincorporatesthesensitivity andspecificity ofimmunofluorescence techniques. Thistest isamodification oftheoriginal procedure (Deacon, Falcone, and Harris, 1957), inwhichasorbent prepared fromthe nonpathogenic Reiter treponeme (Stout, Kellogg, Falcone, McGrew,andLewis,1967)isusedto removethenon-specific immunofluorescence due