La. Campbell et al., DETECTION OF CHLAMYDIA-PNEUMONIAE TWAR IN HUMAN CORONARY ATHERECTOMY TISSUES, The Journal of infectious diseases, 172(2), 1995, pp. 585-588
Chlamydia pneumoniae TWAR has been associated with coronary heart dise
ase by seroepidemiologic studies and direct detection of the organism
in atheromatous lesions of coronary arteries and aorta. In this study,
38 fresh tissue specimens from patients with coronary artery lesions
that were treated by directional coronary atherectomy were tested for
C. pneumoniae, Twenty-three specimens were from patients with primary
lesions and 15 were from patients with restenoses. C. pneumoniae was d
etected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunocytochemical stain (
ICC), or both in 20 of 38 specimens. Using cell identity markers, the
organism was localized to macrophages. Ultrastructural evidence of the
organism was found in the 2 specimens examined by transmission electr
on microscopy, which were also positive by both ICC and PCR, C. pneumo
niae was found more frequently in tissues from restenoses than in prim
ary lesions (P = .17). There was no relation between the frequency of
detection of the organism and C. pneumoniae-specific antibody titers.