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Human cytomegalovirus infections are associated with elevated biomarkers of vascular injury
Citation:
Styles, J., R. Converse, S. Griffin, T. Wade, E. Klein, L. Nylander-French, J. Stewart, E. Sams, E. Hudgens, AND A. Egorov. Human cytomegalovirus infections are associated with elevated biomarkers of vascular injury. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology. Frontiers, Lausanne, Switzerland, 10:334, (2020). https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00334
Impact/Purpose:
This study involved testing serum samples fro North Carolina residents for antibodies to cytomegalovirus and serum levels of four biomarkers of vascular. Results demonstrated the role of chronic community-acquired cytomegalovirus infections in the development of vascular injury potentially leading to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Previous research demonstrated that the same biomarkers are also affected by exposure to air pollution leading to the same adverse health outcomes. Therefore, these novel results suggest that latent cytomegalovirus infections may increase susceptibility to adverse health effects of air pollution.
Description:
Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infects approximately 50% of adults in the United States. Latent HCMV infections may cause vascular inflammation leading to cardiovascular disease, but the existing evidence is inconsistent. Objective: We investigated demographic predictors of latent HCMV infection and explored associations between HCMV infection status, the intensity of anti-HCMV Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody response, and biomarkers of inflammation and endothelial function which are known predictors of cardiovascular disease. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 694 adults residing in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metropolitan area. Serum samples were tested for IgG antibody response to HCMV, and for biomarkers of vascular injury including soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), C-reactive protein (CRP), and serum amyloid A (SAA). Associations between HCMV and biomarker levels were analyzed using two approaches with HCMV serostatus modelled as a binary variable and as an ordinal variable with five categories comprised of seronegative individuals and quartiles of anti-HCMV antibody responses in seropositive individuals. Results: HCMV seroprevalence in the study population was 56%. Increased body mass index, increased age, female gender, racial/ethnic minority status, and current smoking were significantly associated with HCMV seropositivity in a multivariate regression analysis. HCMV seropositivity was associated with 9% (95% confidence limits 4%, 15%) and 21% (1%, 46%) increases in median levels of sICAM-1 and CRP after adjusting for covariates, respectively. The effects of seropositivity on levels of sVCAM-1 and SAA were positive but not statistically significant. There were significant positive associations between the intensity of anti-HCMV IgG responses and levels of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 (p values for linear trend were 0.0008 and 0.04, respectively). To our knowledge, this is the first epidemiological study to show associations between anti-HCMV IgG responses and vascular injury biomarkers sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1. Conclusion: Latent HCMV infections are associated with vascular injury and inflammation biomarkers in adult residents of North Carolina.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Human cytomegalovirus infections are associated with elevated biomarkers of vascular injury