Review Of Chlamydophila Pneumoniae s Theory After...

Introduction Chlamydophila pneumoniae was first proposed to be associated with atherosclerosis in 1988 by Saikku et al [1]. Similar cardiovascular disease studies have also proposed Saikku’s theory after detecting the presence of C. pneumoniae in atherosclerotic lesions of coronary and carotid arteries, which were not identifiable in healthy arteries [1]. Chlamydophila pneumoniae, previously recognized as Chlamydia pneumoniae, is a rod-shaped, gram negative bacteria that is known to cause infections associated with respiratory and cardiovascular cells. There are two developmental cycles of C. pneumoniae; each with a distinct function and form. They are the elementary body (EB) and reticulate body (RB). The elementary body is the infectious form of C. pneumoniae., which is unable to replicate and capable of only brief extracellular survival [5]. In contrast, the reticulate body is intracellularly replicative and exist as in a non-infectious state [5]. The composition and growth process of C hlamydophila pneumoniae, by binary division, allows for the obligate intracellular parasite to be classified as a bacterium. Chlamydophila pneumoniae incubation period is approximately 7-21 days when inside a host and divides every 2-3 hours [4]. Atherosclerosis, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, is an inflammatory disease characterized by lipid accumulation along the arterial walls. During an immune response, leukocytes and lymphocytes target invading microorganisms,