Korean J Clin Microbiol.  2005 Apr;8(1):10-16.

Association of Myocardial Infarction and Chlamydophila pneumoniae Infection

• Eun SJ
• Heo WB
• Kim YK
• Lee NY
• Lee WK
• Chae SC

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Although there are growing evidences linking Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection to myocardial infarction, it remains controversial. The authors intended to assess whether C. pneumoniae infection is associated with myocardial infarction.
METHODS
Sera and peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNCs) were collected from 54 cases of acute myocardial infarction (MI), 33 cases of old MI, and 60 normal controls. Anti-C.pneumoniae IgG and IgM antibodies were measured using a microimmunofluorescence (mIF) method, and C.pneumoniae DNA was detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
RESULTS
Seropositivity of anti-C.pneumoniae IgM antibody by mIF was shown 5.0% in control group, 29.6% (OR=8.00) in the acute MI and 6.1% (OR=1.23) in old MI group. Seropositivity of anti C.pneumoniae IgG antibody were 60.0 % in control group, 92.6% (OR=8.33) in the acute MI and 87.9% (OR= 4.83) in old MI group. The antibody titers in the acute MI and old MI group tended to be higher compared to those in control group. No C.pneumoniae DNA was detected in any case by PCR.
CONCLUSION
The seropositivity and antibody titers were significantly higher in the acute MI and old MI group than in control group, suggesting that C.pneumoniae infection may be a risk factor for myocardial infarction.

Keyword

Chlamydophila pneumoniae; Myocardial infarction; Microimmunofluorescence; Polymerase chain reaction

MeSH Terms

Antibodies
Chlamydial Pneumonia*
Chlamydophila pneumoniae*
Chlamydophila*
DNA
Immunoglobulin G
Immunoglobulin M
Myocardial Infarction*
Pneumonia
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Risk Factors
Antibodies
DNA
Immunoglobulin G
Immunoglobulin M