Nanobacteria and Psammoma Bodies: Ultrastructural Observations in a Case of Pathological Placental Calcification

Nanobacteria are controversial infectious agents with nanometric size, the capacity to nucleate hydroxyapatite and grow in culture, and present in human diseases associated with calcification and psammoma bodies. The authors report a case of pathological placental calcifications associated with nano...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ultrastructural pathology 2010-12, Vol.34 (6), p.344-350
Main Authors: Pasquinelli, G., Papadopulos, F., Nigro, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Bacteria - isolation & purification
Bacteria - ultrastructure
calcification
Calcinosis - metabolism
Calcinosis - pathology
Chorionic Villi - metabolism
Chorionic Villi - microbiology
Chorionic Villi - ultrastructure
electron microscopy
Female
Humans
Inclusion Bodies - microbiology
Inclusion Bodies - ultrastructure
nanobacteria
Nanoparticles
placenta
Placenta, Retained - metabolism
Placenta, Retained - microbiology
Placenta, Retained - pathology
Pregnancy
psammoma bodies
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Summary:Nanobacteria are controversial infectious agents with nanometric size, the capacity to nucleate hydroxyapatite and grow in culture, and present in human diseases associated with calcification and psammoma bodies. The authors report a case of pathological placental calcifications associated with nanobacteria. Electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy imaging were used to recognize 160-nm-sized calcium-free bodies mainly presenting as extracellular fibrillary tangles and 500-nm-sized calcified bodies; they encrusted the syncito-trophoblast basal membrane and aggregated into miniaturized psammoma bodies. Nanobacteria may be composed of a prionoid protein with self-assembling and self-propagating abilities whose growth is associated with the formation of psammoma bodies.
ISSN:0191-3123
1521-0758
DOI:10.3109/01913123.2010.504323