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T C Moazed

Publications and source records attributed to T C Moazed.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Chlamydia, inflammation, and atherogenesis.

Atherosclerotic lesions are initiated and progress largely as a result of a chronic, fibroproliferative, inflammatory response. This review discusses how Chlamydia pneumoniae could conceivably contribute to this chronic inflammatory response and reports on recent in vivo and in vitro studies. In vivo studies in mice demonstrate that C. pneumoniae infection is disseminated to the artery wall following infection in the lung by alveolar macrophages. Recent in vitro studies show that infected U937 cells can directly transfer infection to endothelial cells and can indirectly increase the susceptibility of endothelial cells to C. pneumoniae infection. Loading of RAW 264.7 cells with modified forms of low-density lipoprotein increases the resistance of the cells to C. pneumoniae infection and also increases the susceptibility to the combined toxic effects of modified lipids and C. pneumoniae infection.

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Chlamydia pneumoniae infection accelerates the progression of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice.

Accumulating evidence supports an association between Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and atherosclerosis. To determine whether there is a causal relationship, the effects of chronic infection with C. pneumoniae on the development of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E (apoE)-deficient mice were evaluated. Eight-week-old male apoE-deficient mice were inoculated intranasally with C. pneumoniae three times, at 8, 9, and 10 weeks of age. The combined area of atherosclerotic lesions in the lesser curvature of the aortic arch was measured en face by computer-assisted morphometry. The lesion area was 2.4-fold greater (P=.05) at 16 weeks of age and 1.6-fold greater (P=.05) at 20 weeks of age in infected mice than in control mice. There were no differences in total plasma cholesterol levels between groups. This study demonstrates that C. pneumoniae infection accelerates the progression of atherosclerosis in the aortic arch of apoE-deficient mice.

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Evidence of systemic dissemination of Chlamydia pneumoniae via macrophages in the mouse.

Chlamydia pneumoniae has been postulated to cause systemic disease by infection of monocytes/macrophages and spread via the blood or lymphatics. To investigate how C. pneumoniae disseminates, the ability of the organism to infect murine macrophages in vivo and whether infection can be transferred via macrophages were determined. C. pneumoniae was detected by direct plating, isolation, and polymerase chain reaction in alveolar macrophages from intranasally inoculated mice and peritoneal macrophages from intraperitoneally inoculated mice. C. pneumoniae were also detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, but not plasma, of intranasally and intraperitoneally inoculated mice. When alveolar or peritoneal macrophages were adoptively transferred by intraperitoneal injection from infected to uninfected mice, C. pneumoniae DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in lung, thymus, spleen, and/or abdominal lymph nodes. These results demonstrate the ability of C. pneumoniae to infect macrophages in vivo and to disseminate systemically via infected macrophages by hematogenous and lymphatic routes.

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Murine models of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and atherosclerosis.

Chlamydia pneumoniae have been demonstrated in atherosclerotic lesions but not in normal arteries. An animal model of both C. pneumoniae and atherosclerosis is needed to investigate the role of the organism in atherosclerosis. Apolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient transgenic mice, which spontaneously develop atherosclerosis, and C57BL/6J mice, which only develop atherosclerosis on an atherogenic diet, were evaluated. Following single and multiple intranasal inoculations of apoE-deficient transgenic mice, C. pneumoniae were detected in lung, aorta, and spleen for 20 weeks after inoculation in 25%-100% of mice. In the aorta, C. pneumoniae were detected within the atherosclerotic lesion. In C57BL/6J mice on a nonatherogenic diet, C. pneumoniae were detected in the aorta only 2 weeks after a single intranasal inoculation in 8% of mice. The persistence of C. pneumoniae in atheromas suggests a tropism of C. pneumoniae to the lesion. These mouse models should be useful for studying the pathogenic role of C. pneumoniae in atherosclerosis.

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Experimental rabbit models of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection.

Chlamydia pneumoniae (TWAR), a common cause of acute respiratory disease in humans, has recently been associated with coronary and aortic atherosclerosis. In this study, we evaluated rabbit models of chlamydial infection to investigate the pathogenesis of C. pneumoniae infection. New Zealand White rabbits were inoculated intranasally and intratracheally with C. pneumoniae, strain AR-39, and primary and repeated infection were assessed. After a single inoculation, lung pathology was characterized by a moderate self-resolving interstitial pneumonia with bronchiolitis of 21 days in duration. Chlamydial DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) intermittently in the upper respiratory tract and lung tissue through day 21 postinoculation, spleen tissue at day 14, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells at days 3 and 21. After repeated inoculations, chlamydial DNA was detected by PCR in the upper respiratory tract and lung tissue through day 42. Lung lesions consisted of multifocal interstitial mononuclear cell aggregates that persisted up to day 42. Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits were less susceptible to C. pneumoniae infection. After multiple inoculations of Watanabe rabbits, C. pneumoniae was detected by PCR and/or immunocytochemistry until day 21. In conclusion, C. pneumoniae induced a moderate respiratory infection in these rabbit models.

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Chronic sialodacryoadenitis virus (SDAV) infection in athymic rats.

Sialodacryoadenitis virus (SDAV) was detected in athymic rats subcutaneously implanted with human tumor cell lines. Clinical signs included sneezing, dyspnea, weight loss and death. Necropsy revealed both upper and lower respiratory tract disease from which Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurella pneumotropica and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were recovered. Histopathological changes consisted of suppurative rhinitis and bronchopneumonia. Lesions characteristic of SDAV infection were found in lacrimal and salivary glands, and viral antigens were detected in the salivary glands and respiratory tract by immunohistochemistry. Submaxillary salivary gland. Harderian gland and lung homogenates from affected athymic rats were inoculated intranasally into euthymic rats as a rat antibody production test. All euthymic rats seroconverted to SDAV. Seroconversion to SDAV was demonstrated in consecutive pairs of sentinel euthymic rats housed for 6 months with infected athymic rats. Inoculation of supernatants of the original tumor cell lines into euthymic rats did not result in seroconversion. The source of the virus was not determined. In this study, spontaneously acquired SDAV infection persisted for at least 6 months in athymic rats.

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Viral persistence of simian type D retrovirus (SRV-2/W) in naturally infected pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina).

To elucidate sites of SRV-2/W persistence, tissue DNA from three groups of naturally infected Macaca nemestrina was analyzed for provirus: vertically transmitted, viremic, seronegative macaques; horizontally transmitted, viremic, seronegative macaques, and nonviremic seropositive macaques. In viremic animals infected vertically, provirus was found in many tissues, whereas in those infected horizontally, proviral DNA was limited. In V-Ab+ macaques, provirus was detected in bone marrow and/or ileocecal junction, confirming the presence of provirus in V-Ab+ animals.

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