Atherosclerosis associated with Chlamydia pneumoniae: Dissecting the etiology

Abstract

Chlamydia pneumoniae related infections and atherosclerosis are both common entities. Today, the literature presents an enormous amount of data regarding the role of C. pneumoniae in the development and sustainment of atherosclerosis and allowing us to comprehend the molecular mechanisms behind better. The implications of C. pneumoniae in atherogenesis include altered platelet function, hypercoagulability, macrophage dysfunction, vascular smooth muscle proliferation, and increased neutrophilic migration. Therefore, it would not be wrong to implicate that, C. pneumoniae plays important roles in almost every stage of atherogenesis. Furthermore, various serological markers suggestive of active or past C. pneumoniae infection are known to be associated with multiple clinical presentations, such as abdominal aortic aneurysms, subclinical atherosclerosis in the young individuals, aggravated atherosclerosis in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. This review, as a result, aims to provide detailed insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of atherogenesis associated with C. pneumoniae and its clinical implications.