UW Medicine gets funding for 3 projects to better detect syphilis

SEATTLE, Wash. — The University of Washington School of Medicine is one step closer to developing tests that can better detect syphilis.

It’s thanks to the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which has awarded the program grants to fund three projects.

The goal is to help with the recent surge of infections in the U.S.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) infections surged in 2022 to 207,000 cases. That’s the highest amount recorded since the 1950s.

Syphilis is a preventable and curable bacterial sexually transmitted infection, according to The World Health Organization.

If it’s diagnosed early, the infection can be treated with penicillin.

However, if it’s left untreated, doctors say the infection can cause severe damage to the brain, heart, and other organs.

According to UW Medicine, diagnosing syphilis can be tricky because the bacterium that causes it can’t be grown in a lab.

As a result, it’s difficult to directly detect its presence in a patient sample.

Current testing uses decades-old practices that look for the presence of antibodies.

UW Medicine says these tests cannot reliably determine if a positive test is due to an active or resolved infection, or if antibiotics have even worked.

Each lab is taking a different approach to testing.

Two are focused on creating a modernized test that is quick, efficient, and can be used in an urgent care or clinic.

The third is focused on mapping out specific strains and tracking them.

Dr. Stephen Saliphane’s Lab

To improve detection, Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Dr. Saliphante says his researchers will create small DNA molecules, called aptamers, that can be designed to glow when they bind to specific proteins on the syphilis bacteria. This makes it possible to detect very low levels of the bacteria in a sample collected from a patient when they visit a doctor.

Dr. Joshua Lieberman’s Lab

Assistant Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Dr. Joshua Lieberman is taking a different approach.

According to UW Medicine, his laboratory will develop a DNA amplification technology, called multiplex loop-mediated amplification.

The test can quickly determine whether the bacteria in a patient’s sample have genes that could make them resistant to certain kinds of antibiotics.

Dr. Alexander Greninger’s Lab

Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Dr. Alexander Greninger is leading the third approach to testing.

According to UW Medicine, Greninger’s lab hopes to find a way to sequence the complete genomes of syphilis strains from small samples by using a technique called tiling amplicon sequencing.

Greninger says this will make it easier for health officials to track the spread of certain strains in the community, detect new ones, and conduct contact tracing to prevent further spread.

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