Cellular Oxidation of Low-Density Lipoprotein by Chlamydia pneumoniae

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 180; no. 3; pp. 780 - 790
• Main Authors: Kalayoglu, Murat V., Hoerneman, Brian, LaVerda, David, Morrison, Sandra G., Morrison, Richard P., Byrne, Gerald I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01.09.1999; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Arteriosclerosis - etiology; Atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis (general aspects, experimental research); Atherosclerotic plaque; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial endocarditis, myocarditis and pericarditis. Bacterial diseases of the aorta, limb vessels and lymphatic vessels; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cells, Cultured; Chaperonin 60 - metabolism; Chlamydia pneumoniae; Chlamydophila pneumoniae; Chlamydophila pneumoniae - metabolism; Cytotoxicity; Fibroblasts; Fibroblasts - cytology; Fibroblasts - metabolism; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Lipoproteins; Lipoproteins, LDL - blood; Lipoproteins, LDL - metabolism; Macrophages; Major Articles; Male; Malondialdehyde - analysis; Medical sciences; Monocytes; Monocytes - drug effects; Monocytes - microbiology; Monocytes - physiology; Oxidation; Risk Factors; Skin - cytology; Skin - metabolism; Superoxides; Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances - analysis; Vitamin E - pharmacology; Human; Chlamydia pneumoniae; Cell oxidation; Chlamydiaceae; Monocyte; Pathogenesis; Etiopathogenesis; Cardiovascular disease; In vitro; Infection; Vascular disease; Lipoprotein LDL; Atherosclerosis; Bacteriosis; Chlamydiales; Bacteria; Chlamydiosis; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/314931

A spectrum of clinical and epidemiologic studies implicate infectious agents, including Chlamydia pneumoniae, in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The complexity of atherosclerotic disease necessitates examining the role of infection in the context of defined risk factors, such as high levels of native low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Although native LDL does not have atherogenic properties, cellular oxidation of LDL alters the lipoprotein into a highly atherogenic form. In this report, C. pneumoniae and chlamydial hsp60, an inflammatory antigen that was recently localized to atheromas, were found to induce cellular oxidation of LDL. These data provide initial evidence that an infectious agent can render LDL atherogenic and suggest a mechanism whereby C. pneumoniae may promote atheroma development.