Detecção por PCR da presença da bactéria bartonella em humanos com cardiopatias

Abstract

Many studies have demonstrated that infection by Bartonella vinsonni subspecies berkhoffii may cause cardiac arrhythmia, myocarditis and infectious endocarditis in humans. There is strong evidence that Bartonella vinsonni is an important cardiac pathogen in both humans and dogs The Bartonella sp has been associated with several human diseases, being responsible for a number of zoonoses. The aim of this work was to identify and correlate the Bartonella vinsonni subsp. berkhoffii with the cardiac disease by using specific oligonucleotides as Bh16SF and Bh16SR, which amplify a 185-bp fragment of 16S rRNA. The PCR technique was used for detection of this bacterium in human leukocytes. The amplification products were analyzed in 1.5% agarose gel in order to confirm the 185-bp fragment, which in turn indicates the presence of the bacterium. Thirty eight (39%) out of the 96 humans with cardiopathies as well as 16 (15%) out of the 104 humans from the control group showed positive PCR amplification for Bartonella vinsonni subsp. berkhoffii, thus suggesting a positive correlation of this subspecies with the cardiopathies. Sequencing of the amplified product confirmed the presence of Bartonella vinsonni subspecies berkhoffii.