Journal
BMC MEDICINE
Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-022-02607-7
Keywords
Human genomics; Persistent infections; Inflammation; C-reactive protein
Categories
Funding
- Swiss National Science Foundation [3200B0_105993, 3200B0_118308, 33CSCO_122661, 33CS30_139468, 33CS30_148401, 33CS30_177535/1, 31003A_175603]
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) [31003A_175603, 33CS30_139468, 33CS30_148401] Funding Source: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
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Multiple human pathogens can cause chronic, sometimes lifelong infections, leading to chronic low-grade inflammation. This study found associations between infections by Chlamydia trachomatis and Helicobacter pylori, as well as pathogen burden, with higher levels of C-reactive protein.
Multiple human pathogens establish chronic, sometimes life-long infections. Even if they are often latent, these infections can trigger some degree of local or systemic immune response, resulting in chronic low-grade inflammation. There remains an incomplete understanding of the potential contribution of both persistent infections and human genetic variation on chronic low-grade inflammation. We searched for potential associations between seropositivity for 13 persistent pathogens and the plasma levels of the inflammatory biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP), using data collected in the context of the UK Biobank and the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus Study, two large population-based cohorts. We performed backward stepwise regression starting with the following potential predictors: serostatus for each pathogen, polygenic risk score for CRP, and demographic and clinical factors known to be associated with CRP. We found evidence for an association between Chlamydia trachomatis (P-value = 5.04e - 3) and Helicobacter pylori (P-value = 8.63e - 4) seropositivity and higher plasma levels of CRP. We also found an association between pathogen burden and CRP levels (P-value = 4.12e - 4). These results improve our understanding of the relationship between persistent infections and chronic inflammation, an important determinant of long-term morbidity in humans.
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