Detection of herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus DNA in atherosclerotic plaques and in unaffected bypass grafts

Inflammatory Cell Infiltrates in Vessels With Different Susceptibility to Atherosclerosis in Rheumatic and Non-Rheumatic Patients A Controlled Study of Biopsy Specimens Obtained at Coronary Artery Surgery

“…It may be caused by systemic inflammatory mediators, pressure, chemical substances, and local infections or autoantigens (such as oxidized low-density lipoproteins or heat-shock proteins). [22][23][24] The development of atherosclerosis may depend on both systemic factors (eg, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, dysregulation of the immune system, or infection) and local vascular factors such as the biochemical structure, the presence and characteristics of the immunoactive cells, neurohumoral regulation, or microcirculation of the vessel. 10,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Not only the intima, but also the deep vascular layers may play a substantial role in plaque formation.…”

Demonstration of Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Cytomegalovirus, and Epstein-Barr virus in atherosclerotic coronary arteries, nonrheumatic calcific aortic and rheumatic stenotic mitral valves by polymerase chain reaction

“…The role of CMV in atherogenesis has been supported by some authors with detection rates of 10% to 90% (20,29,40,41), but others have failed to detect CMV in atherosclerotic tissue (35,42,43). Xenaki et al (44) detected CMV DNA in both atherosclerotic plaques and non-atherosclerotic tissues from the same patients with similar frequency.…”

“…A high prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA was detected in aortic walls of aortic valve replacement patients (18). Although the existence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in the human aortic wall (19) and coronary plaques (20) of patients with atherosclerosis was shown before, there is no evidence of the presence of EBV in stenotic aortic valves. The association of infectious agents such as C. pneumoniae, M. pneumoniae, CMV, and EBV with mitral stenosis has not been reported before.…”

Search for Genomic Sequences of Microbial Agents in Atherosclerotic Plaques

“…In this regard, it can be noted that the hypothesis of an association between EBV and the development of atherosclerotic plaques has been mainly supported by sero-epidemiological studies and, therefore, our findings are not easily comparable with other previously published works. Only a few studies have investigated atherosclerotic plaques for the presence of EBV DNA, with controversial results since some authors suggested a possible association (13), whereas others failed to show the presence of EBV in the atherosclerotic plaques (3).…”

“…In particular, Chlamydia pneumoniae (c. pneumoniae) and human herpesviruses (Herpes Simplex Virus I -HSVI-, Human Cytomegalovirus -HCMV-, and Epstein Barr Virus -EBV-), separately or in combination, have been variably associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis. However, the results obtained from previous studies are quite contradictory (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7).…”