Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2000 Aug 15;102(7):779-85.
doi: 10.1161/01.cir.102.7.779.

Herpesvirus infection accelerates atherosclerosis in the apolipoprotein E-deficient mouse

D G Alber  1 , K L Powell, P Vallance, D A Goodwin, C Grahame-Clarke
Affiliations

Herpesvirus infection accelerates atherosclerosis in the apolipoprotein E-deficient mouse

D G Alber et al. Circulation. .

Abstract

Background: Human herpesviruses have been implicated but not proven to be involved in the etiology of atherosclerosis. To determine whether there is a causal relationship, the effect of herpesvirus infection on the development of atherosclerosis was assessed in the apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mouse.

Methods and results: In the present study, 3- to 4-week-old apoE-/- mice were infected with murine gamma-herpesvirus-68 (MHV-68). Atheroma formation was accelerated over a 24-week period in infected apoE-/- mice compared with control uninfected apoE-/- mice. Acceleration of atherosclerosis was reduced by antiviral drug administration. Histological analysis of the atheromatous plaques showed no difference between lesions of infected and control mice. Viral mRNA was present in the aortas of infected mice before lesion development on day 5 after infection. This suggests that the virus may initiate endothelial injury, which is believed to be an early event in the development of atherosclerosis. Therefore, the virus may play a direct role in atherosclerosis rather than be an "innocent bystander."

Conclusions: These data demonstrate that a gamma-herpesvirus can accelerate atherosclerosis in the apoE-/- mouse. This study provides the first report of a murine model in which to study the causative role of herpesvirus infection in the development of atherosclerosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources