[Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis].

Several seroepidemiological studies have shown an association between chronic infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis of the coronary and carotid arteries as well as with acute myocardial infarction. Chlamydia-specific antibodies and circulating immune complexes are found more often in patients than in controls. The organism can often be shown in atherosclerotic plaques from coronary, carotid, iliac and femoral arteries as well as from the aorta, employing electron microscopy, immunocytochemical staining and the polymerase chain reaction, but is seldom demonstrated in arteries without atherosclerosis. Only one successful isolation by culture from an atherosclerotic coronary artery has been described. Whether there is any etiological or pathogenetic link between atherosclerosis and chronic infection with C. pneumoniae remains to be elucidated.