Evidence for persistent Chlamydia pneumoniae infection of human coronary atheromas

Borel, Nicole; Summersgill, James T.; Mukhopadhyay, Sanghamitra; Miller, Richard D.; Ramirez, Julio A.; Pospischil, Andreas

doi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2007.09.026

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Volume 199, Issue 1 , Pages 154-161, July 2008

Evidence for persistent Chlamydia pneumoniae infection of human coronary atheromas

Nicole Borel
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 268, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 44 635 8551; fax: +41 44 635 8934.
James T. Summersgill
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, 500 South Preston Street, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
Sanghamitra Mukhopadhyay
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, 500 South Preston Street, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
- Present address: Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, 12300 Washington Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852, USA.
Richard D. Miller
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
Julio A. Ramirez
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, 500 South Preston Street, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
Andreas Pospischil
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 268, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland

Received 31 July 2007; received in revised form 6 September 2007; accepted 18 September 2007. published online 29 October 2007.

Abstract

To date, structures representing developmental stages of Chlamydia pneumoniae, especially persistent forms of this intracellular bacteria, have not been described in human atherosclerotic tissues using specific antibody labeling and transmission electron microscopy.

Staining of atherosclerotic tissue from five patients seeking heart transplantation with gold-labeled antibodies specific for up-regulated chlamydial heat shock proteins, GroEL and GroES, and visualisation via transmission electron microscopy revealed intracellular, atypical, round to oval structures of variable diameter. These structures resembled reticulate bodies of Chlamydia, were surrounded by membranes and were located within smooth muscle cells, macrophages or fibroblasts. By using double immunogold electron microscopy technique (GroEL and GroES in combination with chlamydial LPS/MOMP antibodies), we demonstrated these structures were of chlamydial origin.

In the current study, we demonstrated the presence of aberrant bodies of C. pneumoniae in vivo in archival coronary atheromatous heart tissues by the immunogold electron microscopy technique.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Immunogold electron microscopy, Persistent infection