Measurement of Chlamydia pneumoniae bacterial load in peripheral blood mononuclear cells may be helpful to assess the state of chlamydial infection in patients with carotid atherosclerotic disease.
BACKGROUND
Chlamydia pneumoniae has been repeatedly associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. We investigated the pattern of distribution of C. pneumoniae among patients with carotid atherosclerotic disease evaluating chlamydial load in carotid plaque, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and lymph node from same patient.


RESULTS
Thirty carotid plaques, 30 PBMC and 30 lymph nodes were examined by real-time PCR assay. C. pneumoniae DNA was detected, in carotid plaques, PBMC and lymph nodes in 11 patients; in carotid plaques and PBMC in five patients; in PBMC and lymph nodes in four patients; in lymph nodes in two patients; and in PBMC only in one patient. C. pneumoniae DNA in PBMC significantly coincided with the presence of the respective DNA in carotid plaque (p=0.0001) and lymph node (p=0.02). A higher chlamydial load was detected in PBMC than in lymph nodes and carotid plaques. More than 90% of patients with carotid plaques, PBMC and lymph nodes positive to C. pneumoniae were symptomatic, smokers, hypertensives, dyslipidemics and showed carotid plaques with rupture on the surface, hemorrhage and thrombosis.


CONCLUSIONS
The measurement of chlamydial load in PBMC may be helpful in the future to assess the state of C. pneumoniae infection and the risk of developing sequelae.
Sessa
Rosa
R
Department of Public Health Sciences, Sapienza University, P. le Aldo Moro, 5-00185 Rome, Italy. rosa.sessa@uniroma1.it
Di Pietro
Marisa
M
Schiavoni
Giovanna
G
Petrucca
Andrea
A
Cipriani
Paola
P
Zagaglia
Carlo
C
Nicoletti
Mauro
M
Santino
Iolanda
I
del Piano
Massimo
M
D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000378:metabolism*; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012306:Risk
D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; C078167:OMPA outer membrane proteins