COPD is associated with airway obstruction and chronic inflammation. Previous observations
detected CLSB and DNA sequences of the ompA gene of Chlamydophila psittaci in resection specimens of advanced pulmonary emphysema (BMC Infect Dis 2004; 4: 38).
Therefore bacteriae had to be isolated and grown in cell culture according to the
second Kochʼs postulate. Specimens of patients with COPD undergoing thoracic surgery
because of lung volume reduction or lung cancer and controls (totally 40 cases) were
taken and investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cultured using BGM
and A549 cell lines and tested by PCR. Histologically typical changes of COPD were
seen and TEM could detect CLSB as seen before. But cell culture as well as RT-qPCR
and nested-PCR on Chlamydophila psittaci were completely negative. Chlamydia infection could not be proven in COPD. Further
investigations are necessary to evaluate and determinate CLSB as possible pathogenetic
agents.
