Leptospira borgpetersenii
From DrugPedia: A Wikipedia for Drug discovery
Leptospira borgpetersenii
Leptospira is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species. Leptospira are spiral-shaped bacteria that are 6-20 μm long and 0.1 μm in diameter with a wavelength of about 0.5 μm. One or both ends of the spirochete are usually hooked. Because they are so thin, live Leptospira are best observed by darkfield microscopy.
| Domain | Bacteria |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Spirochaetes |
| Class | Spirochaetes |
| Order | Spirochaetales |
| Family | Leptospiraceae |
| Genus | Leptospira |
| Species | L. borgpetersenii |
| Binomial | Leptospira borgpetersenii |
Surface Characteristics
Leptospira have a Gram-negative-like cell envelope consisting of a cytoplasmic and outer membrane. The outer membrane contains a variety of lipoproteins and transmembrane outer membrane proteins. The outer membrane of Leptospira, like those of most other Gram-negative bacteria, contains lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Differences in the highly immunogenic LPS structure account for the numerous serovars of Leptospira. Consequently, immunity is serovar specific; current leptospiral vaccines, which consist of one or several serovars of Leptospira endemic in the population to be immunized, protect only against the serovars contained in the vaccine preparation. Leptospiral LPS has low endotoxin activity. An unusual feature of leptospiral LPS is that it activates host cells via TLR2 rather than TLR4. The unique structure of the lipid A portion of the LPS molecule may account for this observation. Finally, the LPS O antigen content of L. interrogans differs in an acutely infected versus a chronically infected animal. The role of O antigen changes in the establishment or maintenance of acute or chronic infection, if any, is unknown.
