Advances on immunology of syphilis and its co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponemapallidum,and it has become a public health problem globally.The symptoms and clinical stages of this disease are determined by the state of human's immune response after Treponema pallidum infected.Due to the inability of bacterial culture in vitro and the lack of suitable immunized animal models,the research on the immunology and etiology of the disease is limited.In this article,the advances on immunology of syphilis and synergistic effect of its co-infection with HIV in recent years are summarized. Key words: Syphilis;  Immunology;  HIV;  Co-infection