FAILURE TO DEMONSTRATE CHLAMYDIA-PNEUMONIAE IN SYMPTOMATIC ABDOMINAL AORTIC-ANEURYSMS BY A NESTED POLYMERASE-CHAIN-REACTION (PCR)

Objective: To investigate whether Chlamydia pneumoniae is present in s ymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Method and materials: Aft er optimisation of DNA extraction procedures an inhibitor-controlled n ested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying fragments of the gene encoding the C. pneumoniae specific major outer membrane protein was performed on 124 wall-specimens from 20 patients with symptomatic AAA. Results: None of the specimens contained C. pneumoniae-specific DNA. Minor inhibition of the PCR was noticed especially in media specimens. Conclusion: Using a sensitive and specific nested PCR, we were not ab le to detect C. pneumoniae in symptomatic AAA. The failure to detect C . pneumoniae in symptomatic AAA, combined with previously reported pos itive findings in atherosclerotic lesions, supports the hypothesis tha t AAA and atherosclerosis might be two different disease entities.