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Whipple's Disease: Diagnostic Value of rpoB Gene PCR from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells
Kathleen Weigt1, Alexandra Wiessner2, Annette Moter2
1Department for Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, and Rheumatology, Charité-University Medicine Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12203, Berlin, Germany.
Introduction:
Chronic infection with Tropheryma whipplei, known as Whipple's disease (WD), classically affects the gastrointestinal tract, but any organ system may be affected, and isolated manifestations occur. Reliable diagnosis based on a combination of periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining, T. whipplei-specific immunohistochemistry (IHC), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from duodenal biopsies may be challenging in cases without classical gastrointestinal infection, so the need for additional diagnostic materials is urgent.
Objective:
Our objective was to evaluate additional diagnostic possibilities for WD.
Methods:
We analyzed samples from 20 patients with WD and 18 control subjects in a prospective observational pilot study. In addition to WD diagnosis by PAS staining, T. whipplei-specific IHC and PCR of duodenal or extra intestinal tissues, whole EDTA blood, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and PBMC fractions enriched with or depleted of cluster of differentiation (CD)-14+ cells were examined using T. whipplei rpoB gene PCR.
Results:
Tropheryma whipplei DNA was detected in 35 of 60 (58.3%) preparations from 16 of 20 patients with WD, most of whom lacked gastrointestinal signs and characteristic PAS-positive duodenal macrophages.
Conclusion:
This study provides evidence for the potential suitability of blood, particularly PBMCs, as material to assist in the diagnosis of WD via rpoB gene real-time PCR. Thus, PCR from blood preparations can be helpful for diagnostic decision making in atypical cases of WD.