title: Whipple disease: intestinal infiltrating cells exhibit a transcriptional pattern of M2/alternatively activated macrophages.
abstract: Whipple disease (WD) is a rare systemic disease caused by Tropheryma whipplei and is characterized by the presence of foamy macrophages with periodic acid-Schiff-positive inclusions in tissues such as lamina propria. For the first time, we report the gene-expression profile of macrophages in intestinal lesions from a patient with WD. Microarray and real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that genes encoding CCL18, cathepsins, scavenger receptor, interleukin-10, and lipid metabolites were up-regulated in intestinal lesions. This transcriptional pattern corresponds to that of M2/alternatively activated macrophages. Our results suggest that the T helper 2 response in the intestinal environment may account for the pathophysiological properties of WD.
authors.affiliation: Unité des Rickettsies, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Fédératif de Recherche 48, Université de la Méditerranée, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Desnues
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lepidi
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Mege
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019742:Chemokines, CC / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004386:Duodenum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005487:Foam Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D008262:Macrophage Activation; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D051116:Receptors, Scavenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation; D008061:Whipple Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: C111792:CCL18 protein, human; D019742:Chemokines, CC; D051116:Receptors, Scavenger; D016753:Interleukin-10; D002403:Cathepsins