A prevalence study of chlamysia pneumoniae ompA gene in atherosclerotic and non atherosclerotic segments of arteries obtained from autopsies performed at the forensic unit, General Hospital , Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

Pathogen being linked with various diseases is not a new paradigm. Now we are on the search for a possible link between Chlamydia pneumoniae and the formation of plaques within arteries. This study was performed to investigate the presence of C. pneumoniae within atherosclerotic as well as non – atherosclerotic arterial segments. Molecular as well as Immunohistochemistry studies were conducted to answer the issue at hand. Fifty two atherosclerotic arterial segments and thirty three non - atherosclerotic segments were obtained from 33 cadavers at Forensic Unit, Hospital Kuala Lumpur for the purpose of the study. Both Immunohistochemistry as well as real time PCR assay failed to detect any C. pneumoniae from the all samples. Thus this study could not demonstrate any molecular or immunohistochemical evidence for the presence of C. pneumoniae in any of the arterial tissues, whether atherosclerotic or not.