title: Mucosal immune response to Tropheryma whipplei.
abstract: Whipple's disease is a rare infectious disease caused by the ubiquitously occurring Tropheryma whipplei in predisposed persons. Genetic or acquired defects in the mucosal and peripheral immune system become apparent as diminished Th1 immune functions with decreased production of IL-12 and IFN-gamma accompanied by an increased secretion of IL-4. These defects may enable T. whipplei to survive and replicate. The recently established cultivation of the bacterium in HEL cells and the isolation from infected intestinal biopsies enable a multitude of experimental possibilities which may lead to an improved diagnosis as well as understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of Whipple's disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and European Study Center on Whipple's Disease, Deutsche Klinik für Diagnostik, D-65191 Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ring
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marth
mesh_terms: D000192:Actinomycetales / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D000193:Actinomycetales Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002460:Cell Line; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D008061:Whipple Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines