© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Atherosclerosis and Lipoproteins |
Chlamydia pneumoniae Does Not Increase Atherosclerosis in the Aortic Root of Apolipoprotein E–Deficient Mice
From the Department of Internal Medicine (K.A.-S.), Tampere University Hospital, and the Department of Medical Biochemistry (K.A.-S.), University of Tampere, Tampere; the Department of Public Health Sciences (K.L.), University of Helsinki, Helsinki; the National Public Health Institute (L.E., M.L.), Oulu; the National Public Health Institute (M.J., C.E.), Department of Biochemistry, Helsinki; the Department of Internal Medicine and Biocenter Oulu (M.T.), University of Oulu, Oulu; the Haartman Institute (M.P.), Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki; the Department of Clinical Chemistry (I.P.), Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio; and the Department of Microbiology (P.S.), University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Correspondence to K. Aalto-Setälä, Tampere University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, PO Box 607, FIN-33101 Tampere, Finland. E-mail lokaaa{at}uta.fi
Abstract—In epidemiological studies, an association between cardiovascular disease and Chlamydia pneumoniae (C pneumoniae) infection has been observed. Although C pneumoniae has been shown to be present in atherosclerotic lesions, a causal relationship between C pneumoniae infection and atherosclerosis has not been demonstrated. To study this question, we used 2 strains of apolipoprotein (apo) E–deficient mice. Eight-week-old mice on an FVB background that were maintained on either a low- or a high-fat diet were infected 3 times at 1-week intervals with C pneumoniae, and atherosclerotic lesions were measured in the aortic root at 10 weeks after the primary infection. In each of the diet groups, no difference in the extent of atherosclerosis could be observed between the C pneumoniae–infected and control animals. In further studies, 2 strains of apoE-deficient mice (FVB or C57BL/6J background) were infected 4 times at 3- to 4-week intervals, and the extent of atherosclerosis was analyzed 18 weeks later. The mice were kept on either a low- or a high-fat diet. The high-fat diet increased atherosclerosis, and a difference in atherosclerosis susceptibility between the mouse strains was observed. However, C pneumoniae infection did not influence lesion size in either mouse strain. On the other hand, C pneumoniae could not be demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction in any of the atherosclerotic lesions of the infected animals studied. A small decrease in serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels 3 days after the primary infection occurred, but after that no differences in serum lipid levels compared with those in noninfected animals were evident. In the myocardium of C pneumoniae–infected mice, no inflammatory signs could be observed. We conclude that under the experimental conditions used, C pneumoniae infection does not accelerate atherogenic changes in the aortic root of apoE-deficient mice.
Key Words: C pneumoniae infection • atherosclerosis • apoE-deficient mice • animal model
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