Enterovirus in arteriosclerosis: a pilot study

Various pathogens have been suspected to play a role in the initiation or amplification of the atherosclerotic lesions. Both experimental and epidemiological arguments plead for a possible role of enterovirus in this process.

To determine the prevalence of enterovirus genome in atherosclerotic plaques, in comparison with Chlamydia pneumoniae, human cytomegalovirus (hCMV) and herpes simplex virus.

Pilot study on 18 patients who underwent artery resection. Five artery samples were tested for each patient and each pathogen by using PCR techniques whose sensitivity was evaluated for this kind of specimen. The quality of the extraction step was assessed by amplification of a fragment of the human aldolase A gene.

The genome of at least one infectious agent was detected in artery samples from 7 of the 18 patients (38.9%). In all cases, only one of the five aliquots was found positive; a confirmation was done by sequencing the PCR product. With regards to enterovirus, four patients (22.2%) were detected positive (one of them being also positive for hCMV).

These results suggest that small amounts of enterovirus genome are commonly found in lesions of patients with advanced arteriosclerosis. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical significance of this association.