Whipple's disease: case report with immunological studies

A patient with Whipple's disease is described whose small bowel biopsy demonstrated antigenicity to rabbit antisera to groups A, B, C, and G streptococci and Shigella flexneri, but not to antisera to pneumococcus or Shigella sonnei by immunofluorescent techniques. In addition, the patient's lymphocytes responded normally to phytohemagglutinin and to concanavalin A. These studies support the idea what Whipple's disease is mediated by a bacteria-like agent which shares certain antigenic similarities with groups A, B, C, and G streptococci and S. flexneri, and that T cell dysfunction does not appear to be an essential prerequisite for the disease.