A 2,000-year-old specimen with intraerythrocyticBartonella quintana

Abstract

22Bartonella quintana. 23 24 2 ABSTRACT 25Photogrammetry and cascading microscopy investigations of dental pulp specimens 26 collected from 2,000-year-old individuals buried in a Roman necropolis in Besançon, 27 France, revealed unprecedented preserved tissular and cellular morphology. 28 Photogrammetry yielded 3-D images of the smallest archaeological human remain 29 ever recovered. Optical microscopy examinations after standard hematoxylin-30 phloxine-saffron staining and anti-glycophorin A immunohistochemistry exposed 31 dental pulp cells, in addition erythrocytes were visualized by electron microscopy, 32 which indicated that the ancient dental pulp trapped a blood drop. Fluorescence in 33 situ hybridization applied on red blood cells revealed the louse-borne pathogen 34 Bartonella quintana, a finding confirmed by polymerase chain reaction assays. 35 Through paleohistology and paleocytology, we demonstrate that ancient dental pulp 36 preserved intact blood cells at the time of the individual's death, offering an 37 unprecedented opportunity to engage in direct and indirect tests to diagnose 38 pathogens in ancient buried individuals. 39 40 41 42 3