Reduced Tropheryma whipplei-specific Th1-reactivity of patients with Whipple's disease might be provoked by disturbed functions of dendritic cells and monocytes

Aims: Whipple's disease (WD) is a rare infectious disorder caused by Tropheryma whipplei. Major symptoms are arthropathy, weight loss, and diarrhea. The incidence of WD is very low despite the ubiquitous presence of T. whipplei in the environment. Therefore, host factors indicated by immune deficiencies might be responsible for the development of WD. Methods: The recent establishment of the strain T. whipplei Twist-MarseilleT has enabled the analysis of T. whipplei-specific reactivity. Thus, we compared CD4+ T-cell reactions of (I) WD-patients (n=40), (II) healthy subjects (n=30), and (III) healthy subjects excr…