Effects of Murine Norovirus on Chlamydia Pneumoniae-Accelerated Atherosclerosis in ApoE(-/-) Mice

Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn), a common respiratory pathogen of humans, is associated with human cardiovascular disease and the acceleration of atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic animal models. Our laboratory has demonstrated that murine norovirus (MNV), a prevalent infection of laboratory mice, can unpredictably alter atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic Ldlr(-/-) and ApoE(-/-) mice. Given that MNV has a tropism for macrophages and may exacerbate atherogenesis, we investigated whether coinfection with MNV and Cpn might alter macrophage phenotypes in vitro and atherosclerosis in ApoE(-/-) mice. In the presence of oxidized low-density lipoprotein, coinfection of ApoE(-/-) bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) with MNV and Cpn resulted in significant increases in gene expression of IL6, MCP1, iNOS, and TNFα compared with Cpn-monoinfected BMDM. On the basis of these findings, we hypothesized that concurrent MNV-Cpn infection might increase plaque lesion size in vivo. As expected, Cpn monoinfection of ApoE(-/-) mice increased mean plaque size by 62% compared with that in uninfected mice. However, MNV did not significantly alter plaque lesion size in MNV-Cpn-coinfected mice compared with Cpn-monoinfected mice. There were no differences in aortic cytokines locally at the site of plaque development or in peritoneal macrophages at 1 wk after infection in MNV-Cpn-coinfected mice compared with Cpn-monoinfected mice. MNV was not detected in the aortic tissue of MNV-infected mice at 1 or 8 wk after infection regardless of Cpn status. These data suggest that MNV infection does not appreciably alter plaque development in Cpn-accelerated atherosclerosis in ApoE(-/-) mice.