Active cytomegalovirus infection in aortic smooth muscle cells from patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abstract

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is associated with atherosclerosis and transplant vascular sclerosis. The aim of this study was to explore the hypothesis that active CMV infection in the vessel wall could be associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). We examined the prevalence of CMV in AAA specimens from 22 patients undergoing surgery and, in five cases, characterized the function of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from the aneurysm in vitro. Twenty-one (95%) of the 22 AAA specimens were CMV positive by a polymerase chain reaction assay, in situ hybridization, or a highly sensitive immunohistochemical staining technique. No positive cells were found in aortas from three CMV-seronegative organ donor cadavers. CMV immediate-early and late antigens were expressed in SMCs in the lesions and were associated with 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) expression. CMV-positive intimal SMCs migrated 6.6∈±∈1.5 times more efficiently than CMV-negative medial SMCs (p∈