OBJECTIVE: T-cell activation is an essential feature of atherosclerotic plaque inflammation, which eventually may lead to plaque rupture. In this study, we investigated if EBV, a common herpes virus, is capable of stimulating atherosclerotic plaque derived T-cells and thus could contribute to atherosclerotic plaque inflammation. METHODS: Plaque derived T-cell cultures were established from symptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaques of 19 patients. B-cells from the same patients were transformed with EBV to form lymphoblastoid cell lines (B-LCL) that served as antigen presenting cells. The proliferation of T-cells in the presence of autologous B-LCL was analyzed using 3H-thymidine incorporation. The presence of EBV in atherosclerotic material was analyzed by PCR. RESULTS: Of the 19 cell obtained T-cell cultures, 11 responded to EBV (58%, mean stimulation index: 10.1+/-3.1). PCR analysis showed that EBV DNA was present in 15 of the tissue samples (79%). All the specimens that contained EBV responding T-cells also contained EBV. EBV specific T-cells secreted granzymes, as indication of functional cytotoxic potential. CONCLUSIONS: EBV-specific cytotoxic T-cells and EBV DNA can be frequently observed in human atherosclerotic plaques. This suggests that a T-cell response against EBV could contribute to plaque inflammation, and thus to the onset of acute clinical symptoms.
OBJECTIVE: T-cell activation is an essential feature of atherosclerotic plaque inflammation, which eventually may lead to plaque rupture. In this study, we investigated if EBV, a common herpes virus, is capable of stimulating atherosclerotic plaque derived T-cells and thus could contribute to atherosclerotic plaque inflammation. METHODS: Plaque derived T-cell cultures were established from symptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaques of 19 patients. B-cells from the same patients were transformed with EBV to form lymphoblastoid cell lines (B-LCL) that served as antigen presenting cells. The proliferation of T-cells in the presence of autologous B-LCL was analyzed using 3H-thymidine incorporation. The presence of EBV in atherosclerotic material was analyzed by PCR. RESULTS: Of the 19 cell obtained T-cell cultures, 11 responded to EBV (58%, mean stimulation index: 10.1+/-3.1). PCR analysis showed that EBV DNA was present in 15 of the tissue samples (79%). All the specimens that contained EBV responding T-cells also contained EBV. EBV specific T-cells secreted granzymes, as indication of functional cytotoxic potential. CONCLUSIONS: EBV-specific cytotoxic T-cells and EBV DNA can be frequently observed in humanatherosclerotic plaques. This suggests that a T-cell response against EBV could contribute to plaque inflammation, and thus to the onset of acute clinical symptoms.
Authors: Roshni Roy Chowdhury; Jessica D'Addabbo; Xianxi Huang; Stefan Veizades; Koki Sasagawa; David M Louis; Paul Cheng; Jan Sokol; Annie Jensen; Alexandria Tso; Vishnu Shankar; Ben Shogo Wendel; Isaac Bakerman; Grace Liang; Tiffany Koyano; Robyn Fong; Allison N Nau; Herra Ahmad; Jayakrishnan Gopakumar; Robert Wirka; Andrew S Lee; Jack Boyd; Y Joseph Woo; Thomas Quertermous; Gunsagar Singh Gulati; Siddhartha Jaiswal; Yueh-Hsiu Chien; Charles Kwok Fai Chan; Mark M Davis; Patricia K Nguyen Journal: Circ Res Date: 2022-04-18 Impact factor: 23.213
Authors: W James Waldman; Marshall V Williams; Stanley Lemeshow; Philip Binkley; Denis Guttridge; Janice K Kiecolt-Glaser; Deborah A Knight; Katherine J Ladner; Ronald Glaser Journal: Brain Behav Immun Date: 2007-09-12 Impact factor: 7.217