Possible role of cytomegalovirus in atherogenesis

Article Abstract:

Atherosclerotic plaques are accumulations of cholesterol, lipids, and debris that form inside the walls of arteries. These plaques are produced by the smooth muscle cells that compose part of the arterial wall, but the factors that regulate plaque deposition remain largely unknown. One possible factor is injury to the artery's lining due to viral infection. Results from several animal studies describe a possible association between atherosclerosis and virus, which causes cell destruction. Atherosclerotic lesions have been induced in chickens by avian herpesvirus (HSV). Following a high-cholesterol diet, atherosclerotic plaques were also detected in Japanese quail that were bred for susceptibility to the condition. DNA (genetic material) in susceptible quail contained sequences related to avian herpesvirus. Several human studies are also cited. Antibodies to human herpesvirus are present in more than 50 percent of people by age 35. Arterial tissue, primarily from people undergoing surgery to reduce arterial plaque, was evaluated for the presence of HSV and CMV (cytomegalovirus). Cultures of smooth muscle-like cells from plaque tissue and from uninvolved sections of artery (explants) were grown; proteins specific to CMV were found in both kinds of explant. Based on these results, it appears that CMV may act as an initiating factor in plaque genesis. Viral genetic material was detected in segments of abdominal and femoral (upper leg) arteries from patients undergoing surgery for vascular disease, and in abdominal arteries removed during autopsies of patients who did not have atherosclerosis. CMV DNA was found in 90 percent of the arterial tissue of the surgical patients, but in only 53 percent of the tissue obtained during postmortem examinations. Another study compared viral presence in patients who had undergone surgery for atherosclerotic disease and patients who had high blood cholesterol levels, but no apparent vascular disease. Significant differences in CMV antibody were found between the two groups. Studies of heart transplant patients reported that recipients who developed CMV soon after transplantation had a higher rate of atherosclerosis, a leading cause of death in these patients. CMV may infect and damage cells, without killing them, and may be involved in the early stages of atherosclerotic disease. Overall, evidence from several sources indicates that viruses may play an important role in the pathogenesis of human atherosclerosis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Case studies, Herpesviruses, Cytomegaloviruses, Cytomegalovirus

---

Lipoproteins and atherogenesis: current concepts

Article Abstract:

The importance of lowering blood cholesterol levels to protect against coronary heart disease is now so well known that it almost seems unimportant to understand how cholesterol levels and heart disease are related. Yet this is not the case; since high blood cholesterol is most certainly not the only cause of coronary heart disease, it behooves researchers to try to understand all mechanisms of atherogenesis (formation of the fatty lesions associated with atherosclerosis in the walls of blood vessels). A review is presented of recent findings concerning atherogenesis. Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and beta-very-low-density lipoproteins (B-VLDLs) are the most atherogenic lipoproteins. High-density lipoproteins are not atherogenic; elevated levels, in fact, appear to protect against the disease. Topics discussed include the origin of atherosclerosis, the role of oxidized LDL, the status of therapy with antioxidants, the importance of macrophages (cells of the immune system), and hypotheses concerning fatty streak formation. Atherosclerotic lesions are believed to result from these fatty streaks; three diagrams illustrate how key physiological events could progress. Increasingly, research on atherosclerosis focuses not on controlling blood lipid levels, but on events in the cells that make up the arterial walls. Some of the most important of these cellular processes are discussed briefly. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Coronary heart disease, Blood cholesterol, Lipoproteins, Blood lipoproteins

---

The Lasker Awards at fifty

Article Abstract:

The Albert Lasker Awards Medical Research Awards, recognizing outstanding contribution to the medical sciences, turns fifty years old in 1995. Three awards are granted annually and winners are chosen by a panel of distinguished scientists in a peer-review process. The winners of the 1995 Albert Lasker Basic Research Award are Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Peter C. Doherty, Emil R. Unanue, Jack L. Strominger and Don C. Wiley, for their research on antigen recognition by T lymphocytes. Barry J. Marshall received the 1995 Clinical Research Award for discovering the link between peptic ulcer disease and Helicobacter pylori. Senator Mark Hatfield has won the 1995 Lasker Award for Public Service for his advocacy of biomedical research and political activity on behalf of the National Institutes of Health.

Editorial, Appreciation, Achievements and awards, Medical research, Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Effects of cyclosporine therapy on plasma lipoprotein levels. The prevalence of high blood cholesterol levels among adults in the United States
• Abstracts: The role of saliva in maintaining oral homeostasis. Calculus update: prevalence, pathogenicity and prevention
• Abstracts: Choledochotomy for calculous disease in the elderly. Antibiotic irrigation and the formation of intraabdominal adhesions
• Abstracts: Management of diabetes mellitus and pregnancy: a survey of obstetricians and maternal-fetal specialists. Controlled trial of a preterm labor detection program: efficacy and costs
• Abstracts: Uterine size and endometrial thickness and the significance of cystic ovaries in women with pelvic pain due to congestion. part 2

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.