Infections may be causal in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis

American Journal of the Medical Sciences

Volumn 344, Issue 5, 2012, Pages 391-394

  Ravnskov, Uffe ^a   McCully, Kilmer S ^b,c  

^a VA Boston Healthcare System ^*  (Sweden)

^b VA BOSTON HEALTHCARE SYSTEM   (United States)

^c HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL   (United States)

Author keywords

Atherosclerosis; Cholesterol; Homocysteine; Infections; Lipoproteins; Hypothesis; Microorganisms; Vulnerable plaque

Indexed keywords

ANTIBIOTIC AGENT; AUTOANTIBODY; CHOLESTEROL; INFLUENZA VACCINE; LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN CHOLESTEROL;

ARTERY WALL; ATHEROGENESIS; ATHEROSCLEROSIS; ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUE; AUTOPSY; CAPILLARY PRESSURE; CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE; CELL DEATH; CLINICAL TRIAL; CLINICAL TRIAL (TOPIC); DYSLIPIDEMIA; HEART MUSCLE ISCHEMIA; HUMAN; HYPERHOMOCYSTEINEMIA; INFECTION; INNATE IMMUNITY; NONHUMAN; PATHOGENESIS; PROTEIN AGGREGATION; REVIEW; VASA VASORUM;

EID: 84871615543     PISSN: 00029629     EISSN: 15382990     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/MAJ.0b013e31824ba6e0     Document Type: Review

References (33)

1. Reis SE, Holubkov R, Conrad Smith AJ, et al; WISE Investigators. Coronary microvascular dysfunction is highly prevalent in women with chest pain in the absence of coronary artery disease: results from the NHLBI WISE study. Am Heart J 2001;141:735-41.
2. McCully KS. Vascular pathology of homocysteinemia: implications for the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. Am J Pathol 1969;56:111-28.
3. Ravnskov U. Is atherosclerosis caused by high cholesterol? Q J Med 2002;95:397-403.
4. Hecht HS, Superko HR, Smith LK, et al. Relation of coronary artery calcium identified by electron beam tomography to serum lipoprotein levels and implications for treatment. Am J Cardiol 2001;87:406-12.
5. Schatz IJ, Masaki K, Yano K, et al. Cholesterol and all-cause mortality in elderly people from the Honolulu Heart Program: a cohort study. Lancet 2001;358:351-5.
6. Onder G, Landi F, Volpato S, et al. Serum cholesterol levels and in-hospital mortality in the elderly. Am J Med 2003;115:265-71.
7. Ulmer H, Kelleher C, Diem G, et al. Why Eve is not Adam: prospective follow-up in 149650 women and men of cholesterol and other risk factors related to cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2004;13:41-53.
8. Schupf N, Costa R, Luchsinger J, et al. Relationship between plasma lipids and all-cause mortality in nondemented elderly. J Am Geriatr Soc 2005;53:219-26.
9. Anderson KM, Castelli WP, Levy D. Cholesterol and mortality. 30 years of follow-up from the Framingham study. JAMA 1987;257:2176-80.
10. Johnsen SP, Larsson H, Tarone RE, et al. Risk of hospitalization for myocardial infarction among users of rofecoxib, celecoxib, and other NSAIDs: a population-based case-control study. Arch Intern Med 2005; 165:978-84.
11. Hippisley-Cox J, Coupland C. Risk of myocardial infarction in patients taking cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors or conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: population based nested case-control analysis. BMJ 2005;330:1366-72.
12. Ravnskov U, McCully KS. Vulnerable plaque formation from obstruction of Vasa vasorum by homocysteinylated and oxidized lipoprotein aggregates complexed with microbial remnants and LDL autoantibodies. Ann Clin Lab Sci 2009;39:3-16.
13. Piconi S, Trabattoni D, Luraghi C, et al. Treatment of periodontal disease results in improvements in endothelial dysfunction and reduction of the carotid intima-media thickness. FASEB J 2009;23:1196- 204.
14. Enos WF, Holmes RH, Beyer J. Coronary disease among United States soldiers killed in action in Korea; preliminary report. JAMA 1953;152:1090-3.
15. Blaha F. [Observations on the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis from an experience in a concentration camp.] Cas Lék Ces [J Czech Physicians] 1958;97:86-9.
16. Liuba P, Persson J, Luoma J, et al. Acute infections in children are accompanied by oxidative modification of LDL and decrease of HDL cholesterol, and are followed by thickening of carotid intima-media. Eur Heart J 2003;24:515-21.
17. Fabricant CG, Fabricant J, Litrenta MM, et al. Virus-induced atherosclerosis. J Exp Med 1978;148:335-40.
18. Damy SB, Higuchi ML, Timenetsky J, et al. Mycoplasma pneumoniae and/or Chlamydophila pneumoniae inoculation causing different aggravations in cholesterol-induced atherosclerosis in apoE KO male mice. BMC Microbiol 2009;9:194-201.
19. Birck MM, Pesonen E, Odermarsky M, et al. Infection-induced coronary dysfunction and systemic inflammation in piglets are dampened in hypercholesterolemic milieu. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2011; 300:H1595-601.
20. Ott SJ, El Mokhtari NE, Musfeldt M, et al. Detection of diverse bacterial signatures in atherosclerotic lesions of patients with coronary heart disease. Circulation 2006;113:929-37.
21. Shi Y, Tokunaga O. Chlamydia pneumoniae and multiple infections in the aorta contribute to atherosclerosis. Pathol Int 2002;52:755-63.
22. Ravnskov U. High cholesterol may protect against infections and atherosclerosis. Q J Med 2003;96:927-34.
23. Sijbrands EJ, Westendorp RG, Defesche JC, et al. Mortality over two centuries in large pedigree with familial hypercholesterolaemia: family tree mortality study. BMJ 2001;322:1019-23.
24. Apostolou F, Gazi IF, Kostoula A, et al. Persistence of an atherogenic lipid profile after treatment of acute infection with Brucella. J Lipid Res 2009;50:2532-9.
25. Gidding SS, Stone NJ, Bookstein LC, et al. Month-to-month variability of lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins and the impact of acute infection in adolescents. J Pediatr 1998;133:242-6.
26. Pletcher MJ, Bibbins-Domingo K, Liu K, et al. Nonoptimal lipids commonly present in young adults and coronary calcium later in life: the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study. Ann Intern Med 2010;153:137-46.
27. Naruszewicz M, Mirkiewicz E, Olszewski AJ, et al. Thiolation of low-density lipoprotein by homocysteine thiolactone causes increased aggregation and altered interaction with cultured macrophages. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 1994;4:70-7.
28. McCully KS. Chemical pathology of homocysteine. IV. Excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation. Ann Clin Lab Sci 2009;3:219-32.
29. Higuchi ML, Gutierrez PS, Bezerra HG, et al. Comparison between adventitial and intimal inflammation of ruptured and nonruptured atherosclerotic plaques in human coronary arteries. Arq Bras Cardiol 2002; 79:20-4.
30. Higuchi ML, Sambiase N, Palomino S, et al. Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae in ruptured atherosclerotic plaques. Braz J Med Biol Res 2000;33:1023-6.
31. Maiellaro K, Taylor WR. The role of the adventitia in vascular inflammation. Cardiovasc Res 2007;75:640-8.
32. Nicolaou G, Goodall AH, Erridge C. Diverse bacteria promote macrophage foam cell formation via toll-like receptor-dependent lipid body biosynthesis. J Atheroscler Thromb 2012;19:137-48.
33. Higuchi ML, Santos MH, Roggério A, et al. A role for archaeal organisms in development of atherosclerotic vulnerable plaques and myxoid matrices. Clinics (Sao Paulo) 2006;61:473-8.