The influence of persistent pathogens on circulating levels of inflammatory markers: a cross-sectional analysis from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Abstract

BackgroundSystemic inflammation is linked to cardiovascular risk, but the influence of persistent pathogens, which are conventionally dichotomously categorized, on circulating levels of inflammatory markers is not clear. Antibody levels of pathogens have not been examined in relation to inflammation.MethodsUsing data from a subsample of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, we examined circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen in relation to five common persistent pathogens: cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus-1, Hepatitis A virus, Helicobacter pylori and Chlamydia pneumoniae. We tested the hypothesis that the number of seropositive pathogens (based on conventional cut-off points) would not be as sensitive a marker of inflammation as immune response measured by antibody levels to pathogens.ResultsHigh antibody response to multiple pathogens showed graded and significant associations with IL-6 (p < 0.001), CRP (p = 0.04) and fibrinogen (p = 0.001), whereas seropositive pathogen burden did not. In multiple linear regression models, high antibody response to multiple pathogens maintained a positive association only with IL-6 (4.4% per pathogen exhibiting high antibody response, 95% CI 0.0-8.9).ConclusionsHigh antibody response to pathogens was a more consistent marker of inflammatory outcomes compared to seropositivity alone and high antibody response to multiple pathogens was a stronger marker compared to any single pathogen.

Chlamydia: Possible Mechanisms of the Long Term Complications

“…High antibody response is considered to be a more consistent marker for inflammation than seropositivity alone and high antibody response to multiple pathogens is a stronger marker of any single pathogen. Strong association was found between IL-6, CRP and fibrinogen levels with antibody levels (Nazmi et al, 2010). These findings may be partially explained the discrepancy between conflicting results arising on atherosclerosis, in studies which have methodological diversities.…”

Lack of Association Between Helicobacter Pylori's Virulence and Increased Serum C-Reactive Protein Levels in Functional Dyspeptic Patients

“…Recently, H. pylori and has been suggested as an important factor in extra-gastric manifestations such as increased serum CRP levels and high systemic inflammation leading to a higher potential risk factor to the development of cardiovascular diseases (17,28) . This study was developed in order to verify a possible relation between bacterial virulence and systemic and/or local inflammation through the measurement of CRP levels in serum and the histological evaluation of gastric mucosa of functional dyspeptic patients.…”

Jugulodigastric Lymph Node Inflammation Derived from Chronic Atypical Oropharyngeal Phlogosis Recurring Annually after Flu Virus Vaccination: A Holistic Vision and a Clinical Case Solved after Chlamydicidal Antibiotic Therapy

“…According to Morre et al (18), these severe and different clinical chlamydial and mycoplasmal manifestations, showed in different human ecosystems, according to individual genetic susceptibility, can vary within the same racial population (30), while in others, as described by Rolando et al (31), the HLA-DR over-expression pattern in mild and moderate dry eyes appears to reflect disease progression inflammation being the primary cause of ocular surface damage, but alternatively, could be caused from impoverishment of lysozyme in the initial phase of inflammation by atypical agents like Chlamydia trachomatis (13). The Chlamydiaceae family of human infections, when undiagnosed and/or untreated from the early phase, are known to subsequently manifest themselves, after several years and decades, in a variety of inflammatory conditions such as coronary artery disease and cardiovascular risk (32), and asthma (33). The Chlamydiaceae can also be isolated from the brain tissues of patients with degenerative neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis (34,35), from certain lymphomas (36,37) and also as a risk factor for several types of cancer (38), human syndromes, expressed in several clinical presentations varying from ocular, oropharyngeal, uro-genital problems in both genders including Reiter's (39, 40), FritzHugh-Curtis's (41), Behcet's syndromes (42) and others (18).…”