Is a specific skin type cell the source of c. pneumoniae in chronic skin ulcers?
Chlamydia pneumoniae was detected in human keratinocytes, endothelial cells, and histiocytes that contained intracellular inclusions stained with anti-MOMP (outer membrane protein) and anti-LPS (Abrams et al, 1999). These authors confirmed the presence of C. pneumoniae DNA and RNA in skin by PCR and RT-PCR and productively infected keratinocytes in vitro with C. pneumoniae (Abrams et al, 1999). Recently, we detected C. pneumoniae serologically and by PCR in chronic cutaneous ulcers in a diabetic who responded dramatically to appropriate antibiotic therapy (Vanucci et al, 2000). We cultured C. pneumoniae from chronic skin wounds in diabetic and nondiabetic patients such as those with pyoderma gangrenosum (King et al, 2001;Sams et al, 2001).
