Cytomegalovirus infection and coronary artery disease: a single center serologic study in north-western Iran

Introduction: The role of chronic cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and inflammation in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD) is still not clear. In this study we were aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of anti-CMV antibodies and inflammatory markers in patients who were undergone diagnostic coronary angiography for clinical suspicion of CAD.Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 181 patients were selected randomly among those who were referred for diagnostic coronary angiography to the Seyyedoshohada Heart Hospital of Urmia, in the north-western region of Iran (Aug 2012- Dec 2013). Patients were categorized into either of CAD or non-CAD groups, based on their angiography findings. Anti-CMV IgG and IgM antibodies were tested using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method (Diapron, Rome, Italy). Serum C-reactive protein (CRP), was measured by a qualitative method (Aniston Kit).Results: A hundred and forty one patients (77.9%) had atheromatous plaques in their coronary arteries in angiography, and in 40 cases (22.1%), coronary arteries were free of any plaque. Based on the ELISA results, 171 (99.4%), 21 (12.0%), and 112 (62.9%) cases were respectively seropositive for anti-CMV IgG, IgM, and CRP. 99.3% in the CAD group and 100% in the non-CAD group were anti-CMV IgG positive. The rates for anti-CMV IgM seropositivity were 11.7% in CAD group versus 13.2% in non-CAD group, p=0.78. Groups with and without angiographically-documented CAD, had no significant difference in terms of their CRP seropositivity (64.7% vs 56.4%, p=0.34).Conclusion: Regardless of having angiographically-proven CAD or not, almost all cases who referred for coronary angiography in our study, had a previous exposure with CMV infection as determined by the presence of anti-CMV IgG antibodies in serum. No association was observed between CMV infection and the presence of CAD, which could be justified with the high rate of CMV-specific IgG antibody seropositivity.

کلیدواژه ها:

Cytomegalovirus ، coronary artery disease ، ELISA ، Coronary angiography ، IgG