DETECTION AND WIDESPREAD DISTRIBUTION OF CHLAMYDIA-PNEUMONIAE IN THE VASCULAR SYSTEM AND ITS POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS

Aims-To attempt to detect Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA in atheromatous vas cular tissue. Methods-A modification of an existing polymerase chain r eaction (PCR) assay and immunofluorescence staining with a monoclonal antibody directed against C pneumoniae were used to detect C pneumonia e. Specimens from 32 patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm rep air were examined. Vascular tissue, ostensibly normal, from six liver transplant donors was also examined for comparison. Altogether, 43 ves sels from these 38 subjects (age range 36-85 years) were examined. Res ults-C pneumoniae was detected in 11 (44%) of 25 aortas, five (55%) of nine iliac arteries, two (40%) of five femoral arteries, and one of t wo iliac veins. Immunofluorescence staining supported positive PCR res ults in three of 12 cases in which it was used. Overall, C-pneumoniae was detected in the arteries of 14 (44%) of the patients undergoing va scular surgery and three (50%) of the donors. Conclusions-This study i s the first in the UK in which C pneumoniae organisms have been found in atherosclerotic vessels and the tendency for the organisms to be pr esent most often in such vessels exhibiting chronic inflammatory chang es suggests that a search for them in various forms of arteritis may a lso be rewarding.