%0 Journal Article %A Els Beijer %A Kees Seldenrijk %A Yoshinobu Eishi %A Keisuke Uchida %A Jan Damen %A Jan C. Grutters %A Marcel Veltkamp %T Presence of Propionibacterium acnes in granulomas associates with a chronic disease course in Dutch sarcoidosis patients %D 2020 %R 10.1183/23120541.00486-2020 %J ERJ Open Research %P 00486-2020 %X Background Several studies demonstrated that Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) may be involved in sarcoidosis pathogenesis. Presence of P. acnes was found in granulomas of the majority of Japanese sarcoidosis patients. However, presence of P. acnes in tissue has never been related to sarcoidosis phenotypes and clinical outcome. Therefore, the aims of our study were to demonstrate whether P. acnes can be detected in granulomas of Dutch sarcoidosis patients and to investigate whether its presence is related to a clinical phenotype and/or course of disease.Methods Sections of formalin fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of 76 sarcoidosis patients were examined by immunostaining with a P. acnes-specific monoclonal antibody (PAB antibody) using a VENTANA BenchMark ULTRA. Clinical outcome status (COS) was determined and classified into two phenotype groups: A: resolved, minimal or persistent disease without treatment (COS 1–6) and B: persistent disease with need for treatment (COS 7–9).Results P. acnes was detected in samples of 31 patients (41%) and located within granulomas in samples of 13 patients (17%). The frequency of P. acnes detected in granulomas at diagnosis was significantly higher in patients with phenotype B compared to patients with phenotype A (29% versus 0%, p=0.021).Conclusion Presence of P. acnes in granulomas can be confirmed in Dutch sarcoidosis patients. It is intriguing that presence of P. acnes in granulomas is more frequently found in patients with chronic disease requiring treatment. This adds to the rationale that a subgroup of sarcoidosis patients might benefit from antibiotic therapy.Significantly more sarcoidosis patients with a chronic disease course requiring treatment had presence of P. acnes in granulomas. This contributes to the premise that it is relevant to further explore antibacterial therapy in sarcoidosis. %U https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/erjor/early/2020/11/12/23120541.00486-2020.full.pdf