Atherosclerosis in Patients Infected With HIV Is Influenced by a Mutant Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 Allele

Abstract
Background— Patients infected with HIV present with premature atherosclerosis, and the 2 diseases share common pathogenic pathways. We investigated mutations in the monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and CCR-2 genes, which are known to control aspects of these pathways, to ascertain whether they are involved in atherogenesis in these patients. Methods and Results— We performed carotid and femoral artery ultrasonography to detect subclinical atherosclerosis in patients infected with HIV (n=183). MCP-1–2518G and CCR-2 64I polymorphisms were determined in the HIV group and in a population-based control group (n=348). We also determined MCP-1 circulating levels in the HIV group. The presence of MCP-1–2518G in the group of patients with subclinical atherosclerosis was significantly higher than in patients without atherosclerotic lesions (47.5% versus 18.2%, respectively; P<0.001). Furthermore, the patients with atherosclerotic lesions had higher MCP-1 plasma concentrations than did patients without les...

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