Published Online
on August 11, 2005

A more recent version of this article appeared on September 1, 2005

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Submitted on March 31, 2005
Accepted on May 4, 2005

Heme Oxygenase-1 Is Expressed in Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaques Infected by Helicobacter pylori and Is More Prevalent in Asymptomatic Subjects

Sebastian F. Ameriso MD^*; Agustina Ruiz Villamil MD; Christine Zedda BS; Juan C. Parodi MD; Sergio Garrido MD; María Inés Sarchi PhD; Marcelo Schultz HT; Jorge Boczkowski MD, PhD; and Gustavo E. Sevlever MD, PhD

From the Institute for Neurological Research (S.F.A., A.R.V., J.C.P., M.S., G.E.S.), FLENI, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Institut National de la Santé et la Recherche Médicale (C.Z., J.B.), INSERM, Paris, France; and the School of Pharmacy and Biochemistry (M.I.S.) and General San Martín Hospital (S.G.), University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sameriso{at}fleni.org.ar.

Background and Purpose--It is not well established what are the features, if any, that distinguish symptomatic from asymptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaques. Inducible heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a component of cellular defense mechanisms against oxidative stress. We aimed to assess the presence of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) and the expression of HO-1 in carotid atherosclerotic plaques of patients with and without prior neurologic symptoms attributable to the operated artery.

Methods--We examined 25 symptomatic and 23 asymptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaques removed during endarterectomy and 7 normal carotid arteries obtained at autopsy. We investigated the presence of H pylori DNA in the vessel wall and performed immunohistochemical detection of HO-1.

Results--H pylori DNA was present in 28 plaques and HO-1 was expressed in 30 plaques. HO-1 was found in 27 H pylori-positive specimens but in only 3 H pylori-negative specimens (P<0.001). All 7 normal carotid arteries were negative for both H pylori and HO-1. Although 82% of asymptomatic specimens were positive for H pylori and 87% for HO-1, only 36% of symptomatic specimens were positive for both H pylori and HO-1 (P<0.01).

Conclusions--This study suggests a strong association between H pylori infection and expression of HO-1 in carotid atherosclerotic plaques. There was a substantial prevalence of these features in specimens obtained from asymptomatic subjects.

Key words: atherosclerosis • carotid arteries • infection • inflammation • stroke

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