title: In vitro infection of smooth muscle cells by Chlamydia pneumoniae.
abstract: Recent observations have shown that both Chlamydia pneumoniae antigens and DNA may be found within atherosclerotic lesions. In this study, we evaluated the ability of C. pneumoniae to infect cells that make up atherosclerotic lesions, including endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and cholesterol-loaded smooth muscle cells. The organism readily infected rabbit, bovine, and human aortic smooth muscle cells. Cholesterol-loaded smooth muscle cells were even more susceptible to C. pneumoniae infection. Chlamydia trachomatis inefficiently infected smooth muscle cells, demonstrating that this is not a characteristic of all members of the genus Chlamydia. C. pneumoniae infected bovine endothelial cells poorly. This study demonstrates that C. pneumoniae readily infects one of the important types of cells found within atherosclerotic lesions, i.e., smooth muscle cells with and without cholesterol loading.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans 70112, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Knoebel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vijayagopal
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Figueroa
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002452:Cell Count; D002460:Cell Line; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000276:immunology; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology*; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D002784:Cholesterol