RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Detection of bacterial DNA in Latin American patients with reactive arthritis by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing analysis.
JF The Journal of Rheumatology
JO J Rheumatol
FD The Journal of Rheumatology
SP 1426
OP 1429
VO 29
IS 7
A1 Cuchacovich, Raquel
A1 Japa, Shankar
A1 Huang, Wen Qun
A1 Calvo, Armando
A1 Vega, Luis
A1 Vargas, Ruben Burgos
A1 Singh, Ranju
A1 Flores, Diana
A1 Castro, Ivette
A1 Espinoza, Luis R
YR 2002
UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/29/7/1426.abstract
AB OBJECTIVE: Bacteria and/or their antigens are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of reactive arthritis (ReA). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the 16S ribosomal RNA-PCR method was used to identify bacterial DNA in synovial fluid (SF) and tissue (ST) in a well defined group of patients with chronic ReA. In addition, species found were identified by means of sequence analysis. METHODS: We examined 15 ST and 5 SF samples of 15 patients with ReA, 5 ST samples of 5 patients with osteoarthritis (OA), and 8 SF from 8 patients with closed traumatic knee injuries using a nested PCR with universal 16S rRNA primers. In addition, a nested PCR was developed to detect DNA sequences of Salmonella sp. and Mycoplasma sp. Automated sequencing and comparative data analysis (GenBank) were also performed to identify the species. RESULTS: Bacterial DNA was identified in 8 cases, 5 ST and 3 SF; Chlamydia trachomatis (n = 2), Pseudomonas sp. (n = 3), and Bacillus cereus (n = 2) were the most common microorganisms identified. A variety of microorganisms including Clostridium sp., Lactobacillus sp., Pseudomonas migulae, P. fluorescens, and P. putida, and Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B were also identified. In half of the cases (4/8) 2 to 3 bacterial antigens were identified simultaneously. CONCLUSION: Bacterial DNA is present in the joints in patients with chronic ReA. A wide spectrum of bacteria including some not previously associated with ReA were identified. Further studies are needed to establish their exact role in the pathogenesis of ReA and related arthritides.