Chlamydia pneumoniae and Hyperlipidemia Are Co-Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis: Infection Prior to Induction of Hyperlipidemia Does Not Accelerate Development of Atherosclerotic Lesions in C57BL/6J Mice

Chlamydia pneumoniae has been shown to accelerate atherosclerotic lesion development in hyperlipidemic animals. This study showed that C. pneumoniae did not accelerate lesion development in mice if a high-fat/high-cholesterol diet was started after infection, indicating that C. pneumoniae is a co-risk factor with hyperlipidemia for cardiovascular disease.