Chronic Idiopathic Vitritis: Ultrastructural Properties of Bacteria-Like Bodies within Vitreous Leukocyte Phagolysosomes

• Published in: American journal of clinical pathology Vol. 86; no. 1; pp. 19 - 24
• Main Authors: Johnson, Lewis A., Wirostko, Emil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL American Society of Clinical Pathologists 01.07.1986
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Chronic Disease; Eye Diseases - microbiology; Eye Diseases - pathology; Female; Gram-Positive Bacteria - ultrastructure; Humans; Inclusion Bodies - ultrastructure; Leukocytes - microbiology; Leukocytes - ultrastructure; Male; Medical sciences; Microscopy, Electron; Middle Aged; Ophthalmology; Phagosomes - microbiology; Phagosomes - ultrastructure; Vitreous Body - microbiology; Vitreous Body - ultrastructure; Vitreous body diseases; Human; Chronic; Eye disease; Leukocyte; Vitreous body; Vitrectomy; Phagosome; Electron microscopy
• ISSN: 0002-9173; 1943-7722
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcp/86.1.19

In chronic idiopathic vitritis (CIV) corticosteroid treatment failures, vitrectomy is beneficial. Searching for vitreous microbial agents, 14 vitrectomy specimens from 11 corticosteroid-failing CIV patients were inoculated into numerous in vitro cultural systems; Gram's-, Giemsa-, periodic acid-Schiff- (PAS), and Dieterle-stained centrifuged sediment smears were studied with the light microscope; and the sediment was examined electron microscopically. None of the specimens demonstrated in vitro growth. However, by light microscopy the smears of ten specimens from 8 of the 11 patients demonstrated, in a background of predominantly mononuclear leukocytes, a few polymorphonuclear leukocytes with minute cytoplasmic Gram's variable coccal bodies. By electron microscopy those ten specimens showed morphologically similar 0.5-0.7-micron, thick-walled, coccal-shaped, bacteria-like bodies and 0.03-micron electron-dense spheric particles within polymorphonuclear leukocyte phagolysosomes. The results suggest that CIV vitreous, sterile by contemporary laboratory technics, commonly demonstrates these phagolysosomal bacteria-like bodies. Innovative attempts should be made to cultivate these bacteria-like bodies. Animal pathogenicity studies, using these vitreous specimens as inocula, have been conducted. The results of that investigation will be the subject of another report.