title: Limited association of Chlamydia pneumoniae detection with coronary atherosclerosis.
abstract: The association of Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) detection with atherosclerosis has been controversial because of recent conflicting results. In order to assess how and to what extent C. pneumoniae detection contributes to atherosclerosis, the association between immunohistochemical detection of C. pneumoniae antigen, intimal lesions, and the intimal thickening ratio was examined in 1674 left anterior descending coronary arterial segments from 100 autopsied Japanese patients being free from coronary heart disease. These specimens contained full spectrum of atherosclerotic lesions as defined by the American Heart Association classification. The intimal thickening ratio increased in C. pneumoniae-positive sections comparing to that in C. pneumoniae-negative sections only in the group with normal intima and diffuse intimal thickening, but there was no such association in the other advanced intimal lesion groups. Furthermore, in 50 C. pneumoniae-positive cases out of 100 investigated, the frequency and extent of immunoreactivity did not associate with progression of intimal lesions or the intimal thickening ratio, and the mean score of C. pneumoniae detection did not correlate with the mean intimal thickening ratio in individual cases. These results suggest only a limited association between C. pneumoniae detection and coronary atherosclerosis development and that C. pneumoniae does not influence promotion of atherosclerotic lesions. The role of C. pneumoniae on atherogenesis may be limited only at the beginning stage of atherosclerosis development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Toho University, 5-21-16 Ohmori-nishi, Ohta-ku, Tokyo 143-8540, Japan. lijun@med.toho-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Yoshikiyo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akasaka
authors.forename: Kinji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Sloop
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: Toshiharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishii
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001344:Autopsy; D023521:Chlamydophila Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*