Herpesvirus in atherosclerosis and thrombosis: etiologic agents or ubiquitous bystanders?

The role of herpesvirus infections in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases remains an enigma. Although there is abundant circumstantial evidence of a role for herpesviruses in atherosclerosis and related processes, a cause-and-effect relationship has yet to be definitively established. This article will review the pathological, molecular, and biochemical evidence supporting the hypothesis that herpesviruses are involved in the development of atherosclerosis, restenosis after coronary angioplasty, accelerated atherosclerosis in recipients of heart transplants, and the induction of a prothrombotic phenotype in vascular endothelial cells.