Demonstration of immunoreactivity for Chlamydia pneumoniae membrane protein by immunocytochemistry and of cytoplasmic DNA fragmentation by the in situ DNA nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay in paraffin wax embedded sections of carotid arteries
| Case | Age (years) | Cause of death | Days post mortem | Lesion type | Immunoreactivity for C pneumoniae membrane protein | Cytoplasmic DNA fragmentation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days post mortem refers to the delay between death and the collection of specimens. | ||||||
| Lesion type is classified according to Stary et al as follows: I, normal artery/initial lesion; II, fatty streak; IV–V/VI, advanced lesion.12 | ||||||
| Immunoreactivity for C pneumoniae membrane protein and cytoplasmic DNA fragmentation (small dots of uniform size) refer to the number of positive cells: –, none; +, some; ++, regular; +++, many. | ||||||
| 1 | 19 | Meningitis | 1 | II | – | – |
| 2 | 73 | Respiratory failure | 4 | V | + | + |
| 3 | 76 | Uraemia | 5 | Vb | ++ | + |
| 4 | 64 | Heart failure | 6 | II | – | +++ |
| 5 | 70 | Coronary artery disease | 6 | I | – | – |
| 6 | 70 | Melanoma | 2 | I | – | – |
| 7 | 52 | Respiratory failure | 7 | I | – | – |
| 8 | 51 | Pneumonia | 7 | I | – | – |
| 9 | 30 | Natural causes | 6 | I | – | – |
| 10 | 66 | Heart failure | 3 | IVa | +++ | – |
| 11 | 89 | Pneumonia | 6 | V/VI | +++ | ++ |
| 12 | 60 | Heart failure | 1 | V/VI | ++ | ++ |
| 13 | 50 | Heart failure | 5 | V | ++ | – |