Animal models of infection-mediated vasculitis: implications for human disease

The human vasculitides including Takayasu's arteritis are idiopathic syndro mes for which both autoimmune and infectious etiologies have been proposed. Although proof of a correlation between infection and human vasculitis wou ld aid in patient management, it is difficult to confirm causality. To stud y infection-mediated vascular disease, different animal models have been de veloped. Infections with the bacteria C. pneumoniae, an RNA virus, and herp esviruses all cause vascular pathology and will be reviewed here. Many aspe cts of the human diseases are recapitulated in these models, so further ani mal studies may help elucidate mechanisms of infection-mediated vasculitis. Such results may improve management, and potentially, prevention of these important human diseases. Importantly, the animal models provide an opportu nity to define how the immune and inflammatory processes function in the gr eat vessels and the molecular basis for the selectivity of certain viral in fections for the great elastic arteries. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.