title: Isolation and characterization of an aetiological agent in Whipple's disease.
abstract: A cell wall deficient form of an alpha-haemolytic streptococcus was grown from a prolonged monolayer cell culture of a lymph node taken from a patient with Whipple's disease. Serological cross reactivity was shown between the organism and the material within Whipple's disease macrophages positive for diastase-resistant periodic acid-Schiff (D./P.A.S.). In vitro studies characterized the organism as a facultative intracellular parasite which caused the accumulation within cells of D./P.A.S.-positive material. These results suggest that a pathogenic bacterium is the essential aetiological agent and that the culture of Whipple's disease tissues in hypertonic media may have practical value.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007583:Jejunum / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D010504:Periodic Acid; D011817:Rabbits; D012545:Schiff Bases; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008061:Whipple Disease / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D012545:Schiff Bases; D010504:Periodic Acid