Leptospira is a flexible, spiral-shaped, Gram-negative spirochete with internal flagella. Leptospira interrogans has many serovars based on cell surface antigens. Leptospira enters the host through mucosa and broken skin, resulting in bacteremia. The spirochetes multiply in organs, most commonly the central nervous system, kidneys, and liver.

Leptospira are highly motile bacteria that invade the human blood circulation from skin abrasions or mucous membranes, allowing for their rapid dissemination and subsequent colonization of the liver, lungs, and kidneys [5,7].

Leptospires are thin, helically coiled, motile spirochetes usually 6–20 μm in length. The hooked ends of this bacterium give its distinctive question-mark shape. The leptospires have surface structures that share features of both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria.

Live specimens move extremely quickly, and under visible light their rapid rotation can make them appear as a chain of dots instead of a continual structure. They are propelled by two flagella, one rooted to each end of the bacterium and inserted within the membrane, along the axis.

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. [18] One or both ends of the spirochete are usually hooked. Because they are so thin, live Leptospira are best observed by darkfield microscopy .

2014年11月12日 · Members of the family Leptospiraceae are long, thin, highly motile, spiral-shaped bacteria that comprise both saprophytic and pathogenic species, with the latter demonstrating the capacity to infect a broad range of hosts and survive within both marine environments and mammalian host settings.

2011年11月7日 · Leptospira interrogans is the primary causative agent of the most widespread zoonotic disease, leptospirosis. An in-depth structural characterization of L. interrogans is needed to understand its biology and pathogenesis. In this study, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) was used to compare pathogenic and saprophytic species and examine the ...

Spirochaetes, a phylum that includes medically important pathogens such as the causative agents of Lyme disease, syphilis, and leptospirosis, are in many ways highly unique bacteria. Their cell...

Recent advances in molecular profiling of pathogenic species of the genus Leptospira have improved our understanding of the evolutionary factors that determine virulence and mechanisms that the bacteria employ to survive.

Members of the family Leptospiraceae are thin, spiral, highly motile bacteria that are best visualized by darkfield microscopy. These characteristics are shared with other members of the Order Spirochaetales, but few additional parallels exist among spirochetes. This chapter describes basal features …