Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and atherosclerotic coronary disease

Seroprevalence of Antibodies to Microorganisms Known To Cause Arterial and Myocardial Damage in Patients with or without Coronary Stenosis

“…Furthermore, epidemiological studies show that the seroprevalence of antibodies to H. pylori is generally higher in men than women (15,22). One reason for the controversial results about the association of infections with C. pneumoniae or H. pylori with coronary heart disease might be that some of the studies compared patients with coronary heart disease and asymptomatic controls (6,18,20,23,24), whereas other studies, like the present one, compared symptomatic patients with and without coronary artery stenosis (10).…”

Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Synergistically Increase Expression of Human Endothelial Adhesion Molecules through Activation of NF-κB and p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling Pathways

“…In addition to conventional risk factors for coronary events it has been recognized that there is an association between bacterial infection and myocardial infarction (23,33). Indeed, the addition of inflammatory markers to screening based on lipid levels is a stronger mediator of cardiovascular events (27).…”

Histopathologic Signs for the Inflammatory Role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the High-Grade Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Wall

“…19 The connection between infection with CPn and CAD was first mentioned in 1988 by a seroepidemiologic study of the Finnish group, 20 and it is supported by many later references. [21][22][23] Possible pathogenetic mechanisms of CPn in atherosclerosis have been discussed. 24 The possibility of the proatherogenic role of CPn became likely, although it is still unknown whether evidence supports a causal or contributory role.…”