title: High prevalence of viable Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Crohn's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the detection rate of viable Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease [Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)].
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty patients with CD (15 with at least one NOD2/CARD15 mutation), 29 with UC, and 10 with no inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). were tested for MAP by polymerase chain reaction (specific IS900 fragment) and blood culture.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MAP DNA was detected in all original blood samples and 8-wk blood cultures (CD, UC and non-IBD). Positive MAP DNA status was confirmed by dot blot assays. All 69 cultures were negative by acid-fast Ziehl-Neelsen staining. Viable MAP, in spheroplast form, was isolated from the 18-mo blood cultures of all 30 CD patients, one UC patient, and none of the non-IBD controls. No association was found between positive MAP cultures and use of immunosuppressive drugs or CD-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MAP is widely present in our area and MAP DNA can be recovered from the blood of CD, UC and non-IBD patients. However, MAP spheroplasts were only found in CD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Martin Lagos s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain. jmendozah@meditex.es
authors.forename: Juan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: San-Pedro
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Culebras
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cíes
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Taxonera
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lana
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Urcelay
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de la Torre
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Picazo
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Díaz-Rubio
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016927:Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D053473:Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C429018:NOD2 protein, human; D053473:Nod2 Signaling Adaptor Protein