[Morphological evidence of the presence of a bacillus in cell cultures of the synovial membrane from rheumatoid arthritis patients].
34 synovial membranes (SM) from 24 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and two from osteoarthrosis cases as controls, were studied by culturing the cells on elongated coverslips and Giemsa staining them. 33/34 RA-SM, a 97%, disclosed the presence of a rod-shaped bacterium and its cell wall-deficient forms (CWDB), all adhering to the cells. An external contamination as the organism origin, was ruled out. From one of the RA-SM, a Gram (-), nonfermentative bacillus was isolated, which up to now remains unidentified. This bacillus, when reinoculated onto human embryonic fibroblasts, reproduces the images shown in the rest of the RA-SM. The possibility of this bacillus being the etiological agent of RA is discussed.
Muelas Medrano
J M
JM
Departamento de Microbiología, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid.
Vallejo Galbete
J C
JC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013583:Synovial Membrane / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology
Evidencia morfológica de la presencia de un bacilo en cultivos celulares de membrana sinovial de enfermos de artritis reumatoide.